ON iVii't’ji'K, I ,!i'RRA'n!RE, History
IS'I'OMS OE'THli ANCn-NT EGYPTIANS
y*
3":
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.' •»*
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Princeton Theological Seminary Library
https://archive.org/details/dwellersonnileorOObudg_0
Visit of a family of the Semitic nation called Amu to Egypt about 2350 B.C. (From the tomb of Chnum-hetep.)
See p. 65.
The Inscription above the figures in the upper division reads : ‘ The coming to bring viest’emut (eye paint), which thirty-seven people of the Amu bring to him ’ {i.e,, to the Prince
Chnum-hetep). In front of the prince is the royal scribe Nefer-hetep, and behind him is the superintendent The first of the Amu is ‘ the governor of Abesh.’
of 13itile i^nokDletrge.
VIII.
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE
OR
CHAPTERS ON THE LIFE LITERATURE
HISTORY AND CUSTOMS OF THE
ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
BY
E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A.
Christ’s college, Cambridge.
Assistant in the Department of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum.
Author of ' Babylonian Life and History I
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,
56, Paternoster Row ; 65, St. Paul’s Churchyard.
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof ; and I will destroy
the counsel thereof : and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers,
and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall he wasted and
dried up.
And they shall turn the rivers far away ; and the brooks of defence shall
be emptied and dried up : the reeds and flags shall wither.
The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every
thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks
shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks,
shall be confounded.
And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices
and ponds for fish.
Surely the Princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors
of Pharaoh is become brutish : how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of
the wise, the son of ancient kings ?
The Princes of Zoan are become fools, the Princes of Noph are deceived.
Isaiah xix.
CONTENTS.
* Introduction.
CHAPTER I
Decipherment of the Egyptian Hierogi.yphics.
Attempts of Kircher and others to read them — Guignes and Zoega —
Rosetta Stone — Translation of the Greek portion by Dr. Birch —
Absurd conjectures about the meaning of the hieroglyphs — Young
and his work — Champollion’s wonderful genius — The decipher-
ment accomplished by the names of Cleopatra and Ptolemy —
Attack by Sir G. C. Lewis, and refutation of his arguments by
Mr. Renouf — Letter of Dr. Lepsius — Labours of Dr. Birch,
Lepsius, and others ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15
CHAPTER II.
The Egyptian Language and Writing.
Writing materials, papyrus, stone, wood, etc. — Mode of writing — The
hieroglyphs, ideographic and phonetic — Determinatives — Short
list of Egyptian words — List of the most common phonetic signs —
Hieratic writing — Ornamental nature of Egyptian writing ... 38
CHAPTER III.
The Land of Egypt, its People and their History.
Geographical position of Egypt — Its names — Original home of the
Egyptians in Asia — Biblical genealogy — P'irst Kings of Egypt
— Menes first historical King of Egypt — Cheops and his
Pyramid at Gizeh — Theory of the pyramids — Chephren —
Mycerinus — The Usertsens and the Amenemh.as — Shepherd
Kings — Ahmes, Thothmes, Hatasu — The Amenhoteps, Seti —
Rame.ses 11. and the Hittites — End of the reign of Rameses 11. ... 50
A 2
TAGE
7
4
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Illustrations of the Pentateuch and Bible Passages from
THE Egyptian Monuments.
PAGE
Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt — Famines — Abundance of food in Egypt —
Lake Moeris and its builder — Joseph sold into Egypt — D’Orbiney
papyrus — ^J oseph in prison — Bakers’ baskets — Pharaoh’s birthday —
Seven cows of Athor — ^Joseph interprets the dream — Egyptian
barber and razors — Fine linen and golden chain — Joseph’s
Egyptian name and its meaning — Oppression of the Israelites —
Bricks made without straw — Moses laid in a papyrus box — The
Exodus in the reign of Meneptah — Subsequent contact of the
Egyptians and Israelites — Pharaoh Hophra and Pharaoh Necho —
Decline of the Empire — Persian rule and subjugation of Egypt ... 8o
CHAPTER V.
Egyptian Literature.
Poem of Pentaur on the war of Rameses 11, with the Khita -
Hymns to the Nile — Hymn to Ra — Magical works — Tale of Two
Brothers — Possessed Princess of Bakhten — The Song of the
Harper... ... ... ... ;.. ... ... ... ... 99
CHAPTER VI.
The Egyptian Religion.
Immense number of the gods of Egypt — Triads — Meaning of the word
for ‘god ’ — Egyptian conception of the Supreme Deity — Morality —
List of deities — Sacrifices, priests and their food ... ... ... 129
CHAPTER VIE
The Burial of the Dead.
Egyptian tombs and coffins — Book of the Dead — Description of a
tomb of the Ancient Empire — Pictures and inscriptions on tombs —
hunereal stelae... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 147
CONTENTS.
5
CHAPTER Vin.
The Mummy.
PAGE
Egyptian soul, ka, and shade — Modes of making mummies — The genii
of the dead — Cartonnage — Scarabsei and objects deposited with
the dead — Ushabti figures ... ... ... ... ... ... 156
CHAPTER IX.
The Book of the Dead.
Contents of the ‘ Book of the Dead ’ — Explanation of parts of it — The
blessed dead — The forty-two judges — The final judgment before
Osiris — The negative confession — The Egyptian a fatalist ... 167
CHAPTER X.
The Life of the Ancient Egyptians.
Egyptian children and their toys — Dress of the kings, priests, and
common people — Toilet articles — Kohl — Marriage — Titles of the
king, and his duties — Queens reigned over Egypt — Cemetery of
Memphis — Egyptian houses — Agriculture — Nilometers — Egyptian
army, arms and weapons — Diet of the Egyptians — Sports and
amusements ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 179
CHAPTER XL
Architecture and Art.
Principal periods of Egyptian architecture — Statues of Chephren —
Obelisks — Tomb at Beni-Hassan — Decline of architecture under
the Shepherd Kings — Golden age of art and architecture under
Rameses 11. — Imitations of old works in the time of the XXVIth
Dynasty — The Ptolemies and the influence of the Greeks- — Cha-
racter of the Egyptian ... ... ... ... ... ... 189
APPENDIX.
The Egyptian Calendar 195
Index ... ... ... ... 197
List of Scripture Rkferencls .. 203
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
—
PAGE
Semites coming into Egypt ... ... ... ... ... Frontispiece
Eac-simile of Inscriptions on Rosetta Stone ... ... ... ... 20
Papyrus and Palette with Reeds for writing ... ... ... ... 40
Hieratic Writing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 49
The Sphinx ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60
Bust of Thothmes III. ... .... ... ... ... ... ... 70
Raineses II. in battle ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76
Egyptian Barbers at work ... ... ... ... ... 84
Brickmakers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 91
Hieroglyphic Borders ... ... ... ... ... no, Ul
Groups of Egyptian Gods ... ... ... ... ... ... 128
Ra . . . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 136
Figure of Ptah-Socharis-Osiris, and Box for holding Mummied Object 137
Thoth ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... 140
Female Mourners for the Dead... ... ... ... . ... 148
Soul with Symbols of Life and Breath revisiting Mummied Body 156
Mummy of the lady Katebt, a Musician of the God Amen ... ... 160
Scarabaeus inscribed with a part of the Thirtieth Chapter of the
Ritual of the Dead ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 163
Ushabti Figures containing the Sixth Chapter of the Ritual of the
Dead... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 165
The Elysian Fields ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 169
Part of the Seventeenth Chapter of the Ritual of the Dead... ... 171
The Judgment Hall of Osiris 174
INTRODUCTION.
The land of Egypt, its people and their history, have
been the subjects of the most earnest enquiry both in
ancient and modern times. The reason is not far to
seek, for apart from its importance to the philologist
and profane historian, the nation claims the attention of
every Bible reader and student, from the fact of its being
contemporary with Abraham, and the nursing land of the
Jewish nation. When the patriarch Abraham found a
famine in Canaan, he sought food and life in the land
of the Pharaohs; and after Joseph had become ‘the
ruler of the land,’ Jacob journeyed thither that his
posterity might fill the measure of their four hundred
(or four hundred and thirty) years’ captivity. The Jews
entered the land ‘ when they were but a few men in
number,’ they went out by myriads ; they went in as
visitors dependent on the good favour of the Pharaoh,
they went out with triumph. Egypt was a place of
refuge alike for the founder of the race, for the families
of the patriarchs, and for their mighty Descendant,
‘The Giver of Life,’ Who with His mother departed
by night into Egypt.
The influence of the Egyptians upon the Jews was
8
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
marked and powerful, and there can be no doubt that
living for so long a time in a land where civilization had
been known for thousands of years, where learning in
all its branches was studied and cultivated, and where
there was a luxurious and polished system of life, with
its magnificent temples and buildings and worship,
must have influenced Israel in its infancy for good and
for bad. In a good way the influence would show itself
by the Jews gathering to themselves some of the learning
and wisdom for which the Egyptians were famed among
the nations around. The Egyptian education of Moses
was never forgotten by the posterity of Abraham, for
the martyr Stephen in his dying speech remembered
that Moses ‘was learned in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians.’ Much else too would they learn of the
arts of the Egyptians : the dyeing of skins, the weaving of
cloth, the cutting of precious stones, and the manufacture
of ‘fine twined linen wrought with needlework,’ etc. All
this knowledge was put to a glorious use later on in the
making of the Tabernacle and the instruments for its
service. The whole description of the Tabernacle in
Exodus is full of allusions to Egyptian customs : the
strict rules for the purifying of the priests, the ephod of
the high-priest, the pomegranate decoration of the hem
of his robe, his breast-plate and his mitre, all had their
counterpart among the Egyptians. And not only was the
knowledge gained from the Egyptians sanctified to the
service of the Lord, but the mirrors which the Israelitish
women possessed, and which had been brought by them
INTRODUCTION.
9
from Egypt, were melted down and went to make the
‘ layer of brass and the foot of it.’^ Recently, Renouf
has shown that the word cherubim may have been derived
from the Egyptian cherefu. The evil effects of the stay
of the Hebrews in Egypt are best shown by the
readiness with which they worshipped the ‘golden calf,’
or Apis, set up by Aaron during the absence of Moses ;
and when difficulties met them and food was scarce, by
their demoralised proneness to return to Egypt, where,
though in a state of servitude, they had enjoyed an abun-
dance of cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
Before the present century every writer on Egypt was
compelled to rely upon the statements of Greek and
other historians, who not only often misunderstood what
they were told, but filled up their works in many places
with obsolete traditions and their own ideas. The day for
this necessity,, however, is now past, and though there
are many difficulties yet to be overcome in the Egyptian
language, still enough has been made out to show how
carelessly the religion and customs of the Egyptians
have been represented by foreign writers. Pyramid and
obelisk, sarcophagus and coffin, stele and papyrus and
. leather have now spoken, and their inscriptions, ranging
from 4000 B.C. to the time of Christ, have in a great
measure yielded up the authentic history of the dwellers
by the Nile ; and its real bearing on the civilization of
the West, extending even to our own times, is now
beginning to be rightly appreciated.
‘ Exodus xxxviii. 8.
10
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
The mere names of the works on Egypt would fill a
large book, but a strong line of demarcation must
be drawn between those published before and after the
year 1817. Before that time Egypt was the subject
of the wildest theories and conjectures, but after
Champollion’s discovery of the true reading of the
hieroglyphs and their meaning, this was no longer
possible; theory vanished before fact, and conjecture
before certain knowledge.
In the following pages an attempt has been made to
give a very brief sketch of a few of the principal events
in the history of Egypt (especially the part relating to
the Bible narratives of Joseph and of Moses), its people
their mode of life and literature, etc. But I wish it to be
distinctly understood that I am well aware how impossible
it is even to touch upon all the important heads of so
vast a subject in a little book like this.
The information here given has been obtained from
the first and best sources. For the history of the
decipherment of the hieroglyphs 1 have relied upon
that of Dr. Birch, published in the late Sir Gardner
Wilkinson’s ‘ The Egyptians in the time of the Pharaohs,’
London, 1857. Considering that this is the only good
and trustworthy account of this matter in England, I
wonder much that no one has considered it worth
while to reprint Dr. Birch’s part of that work. The
greater part of Egyptian history has been long well
known, and the principal books consulted by me for the
history of Egypt were ‘ Egypt,’ by Dr. Birch, in the
INTRODUCTION.
1 1
‘Ancient History from the Monuments’ series; Wiede-
mann’s ‘ Aeg^yptische Geschichte,’ and Brugsch’s ‘ Egypt
under the Pharaohs.’ A long array of books and papers
in the ‘Transactions ’ of the learned Societies constitute
the authorities for the remaining chapters of the book ;
and I am glad to express my obligations to their authors,
more especially to Dr. Birch, Mr. Le Page Renouf,
and Messrs. Stern, Brugsch, Maspero, Naville, Wilkin-
son, and Wiedemann.
My thanks are also due to Dr. Garnett of the British
Museum for his care and kindness in reading the proof
sheets.
12
Chronological Table of the Principal Kings
OF Egypt, with approximate Dates.^
isi Dynasty.
B.C.
B.C,
Cha-f-Ra
3666
Mena...
4400
Men-kau-Ra ...
3633
Teta ...
4366
Shepseskaf ...
3600
Atet ...
4333
Ata ...
Hesep-ti
5M Dynasty.
Mer-bapen
Senienptah
Kebh ...
4233
4200
4166
Userkaf
Sahu-Ra
3566
3533
Kaka...
3500
Nefer-Ra
3466
2nd Dynasty.
Ra-en-user-An
3433
Menkau-Her
3400
Bet'au
4133
Tet-ka-Ra
3366
Kakau
4100
Unas ...
3333
Ba-neter-en ...
4066
Uatnes
4033
Senta . . .
40C0
6/7/ Dynasty.
User-ka-Ra ...
3.300
yrd Dynasty.
Teta ...
3266
Meri-Ra
3233
Tatai
3966
Meren-Ra
3200
Nebka
3933
Nefer-ka-Ra
3166
T'er-sa
3900
Mer-en-Ra-Ment-em-saf
3133
Teta ...
3866
Setes ...
3*^33
^tk-iith Dynasties.
Ra-nefer-ka ...
3800
Neter-ka-Ra...
3100
^th Dynasty.
Men-ka-Ra ...
3066
Nefer-ka-Ra...
3033
•Snefru
3766
Nefer-ka-Ra Nebi ...
3000
Chufu
3733
Tet-ka-Ra-maa-kes (?)
2966
Ra-tebf
3700
Nefer-ka-Ra Chentu
2933
' The dates are those of Brugsch, as published in ‘ Egypt under the
Pharaohs,’ ii., p. 31 1.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 13
B.C. I
Mer-en-Her ... ... ... 2900
Senefer-ka ... ... ... 2866
Ra-en-ka ... ... ... 2833
Nefer-ka-Ra Tererl . . . ... 2800
Nefer-ka-Her ... ... 2766
Nefer-ka-Ra Pepi-seneb ... 2733
Nefer-ka-Ra Anna ... ... 2700
kau-Ra ... 2666
Nefer-kau-Ra ... ... 2633
Ne(er-kau-Her ... ... 2600
Neferarka-Ra ... ... 2566
Neb-cher-Ra ... ... 2533
Seancbka-Ra ... ... 2500
izth Dynasty.
Amenemha I.
2466
Usertsen 1. ...
2433
Amenemha H.
2400
Usertsen 11.
2366
,, HI
2333
Amenemha HI.
2300
,, ' IV
2266
\yh-\’Jth Dynasties.
Here comes a break of 500 years,
in which the ‘ Shepherd Kings’ ’
rule falls.
l8//ii Dynasty.
A limes 1700
Amenhetep 1. ... ... 1666
Thothmes L... ... ... 1633
III'.}
Amenhetep 11. ... ... 1566
Thothmes IV. ... ... 1533
Amenhetep III. ... ... 1500
Her-em-heb ... ... 1466
Heretic kings ... ... 1433
B.C.
19//2 Dynasty.
Rameses I. ... ... ... 1400
Seti 1. ... 1366
Rameses 11. ... ... 1333
Merenptah ... ... ... 1300
Seti H. 1266
20th Dynasty.
Setnecht, Rameses HI. ... 1233
Rameses HI. ... ... 1200
„ IV. 1
V. I
„ VI. !■ 1166
„ VII. I
„ viii.j
IX. d
„ X. I
,, XL }■ 1133
„ XII. I
n XIII.J
2ir^ Dynasty.
Herher
I 100
Piankhi
1066
Pi-net'em
1033
Pa-seb-cha-nen 1. ...
1000
Men-cheper-Ra
—
Amen-em-ap-t
—
Pa-seb-cha-nen H. ...
—
22nd Dynasty.
Sheshank 1. . . .
966
Osorkon I. ...
933
Takelot 1.
900
Osorkon H. ...
866
Sheshank H.
833
Takelot 11. ...
800
Sheshank III.
Pirnai
.Sheshank IV.
—
14
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
B.c.
lyd Dynasty,
Pet-tu-Bast ... ... ... —
Osorkon III. ... ... 766
2yth Dynasty.
Bak-en-ren-f... ... ... 733
Artaxerxes ...
B.c.
465
Xerxes 11. ...
Sogdianus
—
Darius 11. ...
... 424
2%th Dynasty.
Amen-rut (Ainyrtaeus)
25M Dynasty.
.Shabaka )
Shabataka )
/UVJ
Taharka
693
2bth Dynasty.
Psamtek 1. ...
666
Nekau
612
Psamtek 11. ...
596
Uah-ab-Ra ...
591
Ahmes II. ...
572
Psamtek III.
528
2()th Dynasty.
Nai-f-aa-u-rut 1. ... ... 399
Muthes ... ... ... —
Pa-sa-Mut ... ... ... —
Nai-f-aa-u-rut 11. ... ... 379
2,otk Dynasty.
Necht-IIer heb ... ... 378
Teher ... ... ... 360
Necht-neb-f (Nectanebus) ... 358
31^/ Dynasty.
21th Dynasty.
Cambyses
... 527
Darius 1.
... 521
Xerxes 1.
... 486
Ochus
340
Arses...
338
Darius III. ...
336
Conquest by Alexander the
Great
332
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE,
OR,
CHAPTERS ON THE LIFE, LITERATURE, HISTORY,
AND CUSTOMS OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
CHAPTER I.
Decipherment of the Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
Among the many linguistic triumphs which have been
achieved by scholars in the nineteenth centuiy, the
decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions^ and the
Egyptian hieroglyphics takes the foremost place. By
their decipherment two of the greatest and most
important nations of antiquity have had their proper
place assigned t6 them among the nations of the past,
and what is still better and of more use, their history
has been unfolded and their learning and wisdom made
available for the people of to-day. Egypt, and its
people, whose past extends through a vista of sixty
or seventy centuries, have ever been the subject of
* For a popular and interesting account of the decipherment of the
cuneiform inscriptions, see Prof. Sayce, ‘ Fresh Light from the Ancient
Monuments,’ pp. 10-20.
1 6 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
misunderstanding and of misrepresentation. The highly
cultivated nations that flourished about the period of
Egypt’s final decay despised its religion, and invented a
variety of absurd statements to cover their ignorance
of a subject v/hich they did not understand. But
now there is neither room nor need for conjecture or
hypothesis, for, thanks to the labour of Egyptologists,
the native Egyptian records have been forced to yield
up their secrets, and we have the means of judging
for ourselves what their language, literature, and
religion were like.
It must not be imagined for a moment that everything
relating to the Egyptians is known, for it is not. Much
has still to be done in many branches of the science.
Travellers who visit Egypt year by year see each time
antiquities and ruins that they have never seen before,
and tell us that in spite of the magnificent collections
of Egyptian antiquities in London, Paris, Turin, Berlin,
Boulak, and elsewhere, Egypt is only half excavated, and
that as much, if not more, exists under the ground as
above it. What has already been found will serve as a
specimen of what is still to be found ; so likewise
what Egyptologists have already made out from the
monuments and papyri is but an earnest of what is yet
to come.
Before going further, however, it will be convenient
here to relate briefly the story of the decipherment of the
Egyptian hieroglyphics.^ The man to whom the world
* For the history of this triumph, and for a list of the writers on
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 1 7
principally owes its gratitude for this work is Cham-
pollion. As might be expected, one of the most serious
difficulties to be overcome before any good work could
be done in the way of reading the Egyptian hiero-
glyphics, was to obtain careful and accurate copies of
inscriptions. Many scholars like Kircher, and travellers
like Pococke, published copies of inscriptions, but the
characters were so distorted and' badly drawn that they
were worthless for the purpose of reading or study.
Many attempts hadi been made to read the hieroglyphics
in the sixteenth century, but no real progress was made ;
and in the seventeenth century Athanasius Kircher
published his ‘ CEdipus ^gyptiacus,’ in which he
professed to give translations of P'gyptian stelje and also
of an obelisk. It is perhaps needless to say that his
principles of decipherment were absolutely worthless,
and it is quite clear that he did not understand that some
of the signs represented letters. He considered each
sign to represent an idea, and, as Dr. Birch has pointed
out,' he translated Domitian’s title Antocrator, by ‘the
author of fruitfulness and of all vegetation is Osiris,
whose productive force was produced in his kingdom of
heaven through the holy Mophta.’
The first three-quarters of the eighteenth century
also saw much valuable time and learning wasted in
Egyptian, ancient and modern (up to 1857), see the ‘ Introduction to the
Study of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs,’ by Dr. Birch, in Wilkinson’s ‘ The
Egyptians in the Time of the Pharaohs,’
* Wilkinson, ‘The Egyptians in the Time of the Pharaohs,’ p. 191.
B
1 8 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
producing works on the Egyptian hieroglyphics which
were productive of no good results ; but in the fourth
quarter some facts were made out which served to
hasten the solution of the difficult problem of decipher-
ment. De Guignes found out that groups with
determinative characters existed in Egyptian, and
Zoega made two startling discoveries, (i) that the hiero-
glyphs were letters ; (2) that each cartouche contained a
royal name,^ though this latter discovery was also made
independently by Thomas Young. These were the first
steps made in the right direction.
Matters remained thus until the French scientific
expedition to Egypt under- Napoleon I. took place. In
1799 an artillery officer named Boussard discovered,
while digging the foundation of a house at Fort St.
Julien, near Rosetta, the ancient Bolbitane, a large
black stone, which has since been generally called the
‘ Rosetta Stone,’ and which is now in the British
Museum. It stood originally in a temple of the god
Tmu, and was presented to the French Institute of
Cairo : it was afterwards surrendered to General
Hutchinson, and was presented by George III. to the
British Museum.^
Now, to understand an unknown language it is
necessary to have an interpreter, and, as Champollion
* The names of kings, queens, and princes are enclosed in ovals, to which
the name cartouche has been given : thus ^0 1
‘ Psammetichus.’
" Wilkinson, ‘ The Egj’ptians in the Time of the Pharaohs,’ p- ^9’^-
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DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 21
has said,* the interpreter must be either a man, or a
book, or a writing ; in this case the unknown language
was Egyptian, and the interpreter was the writing on
the Rosetta Stone. The stone is three, feet two inches
long, two feet five inches wide, and contains inscriptions
in three! kinds of writing: one in hieroglyphics, another
in demotic, or the language of the people, and the third
in Greek. Most unfortunately a very large piece of
the end of the stone containing the hieroglyphic part of
the inscription was broken away, but enough remained
for the purposes of interpretation. Scholars saw
immediately that a key was at hand for the unlocking
of the mysteries of the Egyptian language, and renewed
their ’studieswith great vigour. A fac-simile of the inscrip -
tion on the stone was made by the Society of Antiquaries
in 1802, and distributed among scholars ; and for the first
time a scientific attempt was made to translate Egyptian.
When the Greek text of the inscription had been read,
it was found that it was a decree drawn up by the
priests of Memphis in honour of their king Ptolemy’
Epiphanes, B.C. 198, who had conferred enormous
benefits upon them, and they in gratitude had enjoined
thnt ‘ this decree should be engraved on a tablet of
hard stone, in hieroglyphical, enchorial, and Greek
characters, and should be set up in each of the first,
second, and third rate temples, at the statue of the ever-
living king.’
Since the Rosetta Stone has always been an object of
* ‘ L’Univer.s,’ p. 222.
22
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
the greatest curiosity to those who are interested in the
history of Egyptian decipherment, we reproduce here a
complete translation of it by Dr. Birch. As the hiero-
glyphic text is imperfect, and the demotic not yet fully
translated, the translation here given is from the Greek.
It was first published by Dr. Birch in Arundale and
Bonomi’s ‘ Gallery of Antiquities,’ p. 1 14 ; and afterwards
in ‘ Records of the Past,’ Vol. IV., pp. 69-78. We must
add, however, that last December the Museum of Boulak
bought a stele, found at En-Nobeireh near Damanour,
which contained a duplicate copy of the text inscribed
upon the Rosetta Stone. A reproduction of the stele
and the text is given by Urbain Bouriant in the ' Recueil
de Travaux relatifs a la Philologie et a I’Archdologie
Kgyptiennes et Assyriennes,’ Paris, 1885.
Translation of the Rosetta Stone.
Under the reign of Youth, and immediate successor of his
father, lord of the diadems, very glorious having established
order in Egypt ; pious towards the gods ; superior to his adver-
saries ; having ameliorated the life of men ; Master of the
festivals of thirty years, like Hephaistos the Great ; like the Sun
great king of the Upper and Lower regions; born of the gods
Philopatores, approved by Hephaistos ; to whom the sun has
given victory ; living image of Zeus ; Son of the Sun, Ptolemy,
always living, beloved of Ptah, the ninth year ; Aetes son of
.A.etes, being Priest of Alexander and of the gods Soteres and
of the gods Adelphoi, and of the gods Euergetai, and of the
gods Philopatores, and of the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes.
Pyrrha, daughter of Philinos, being the Athlophoros of Berenice
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 23
Euergetes, Aria daughter of Diogenes ; being the Kanephoros
of Arsinoe Philadelphos Eirene, daughter of Ptolemy ; being
Priestess of Arsinoe Philopator on the 4th of the month
xandikos; and the i8th of the month of the Egyptians,
Mechir (March)
A Decree.
The high priests and prophets, and those who go into the
sanctuary for the clothing of the gods, and feather-bearers and
sacred scribes, and all the other priests, who from the temples
of the country had assembled at Memphis, before the King, at
the festival of the reception of the crown, of Ptolemy, ever living,
beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes, which he
received direct from his father, assembled in the temple at
Memphis, this same day, have said : ‘ Inasmuch as King
Ptolemy, ever living, beloved of Ptah, god Epiphanes,
Eucharistes, issue of the King Ptolemy and of the Queen
Arsinoe, gods Philopatores, has filled the temples with bene-
factions and those therein dwelling, and all those who are
placed under his dominion, being god, born of a god and a
goddess, like Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, who has
avenged his father Osiris ; towards the gods, full of generous
piety, has consecrated to the temples revenues of money and
provisions; and has supported great expenses in order to bring
tranquillity to Egypt, and to establish order in all that concerns
sacred affairs, has manifested with all his own power his senti-
ments of humanity ; and of the public revenues and imposts
collected in Egypt, he has finally suppressed some, and lightened
others, so that the people and all the others may have plenty
under his reign ; the sums due to the treasury by the inhabitants
of Egypt, and those of the rest of his kingdom, whVh were very
24 .
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
considerable, he has generally remitted ; and those imprisoned
and those against whom law suits had commenced long since,
he has freed them from all claims ; he has moreover ordered
that the revenues of the temples, and the contributions which
had been granted them yearly, whether in provision or money, as
also the proper portions assigned to the gods, as the vineyards,
gardens, and other lands, that belonged to the gods under the
reign of his father, should remain on the same footing. As to
the priests, he has also commanded that they should pay nothing
more to the appointment fund than what they had been taxed
to the first year under his father ; he has further remitted to
those amongst the sacred body annual voyage to Alexandria ; he
has likewise ordered that there should be no longer levied the
contribution for the navy; of the byssus delivered in the temples
to the royal treasury he has remitted two-thirds ; and all that
had been previously neglected, he has re-established in proper
order, taking all care that which it had been customary to
perform for the gods should be executed as it ought to be ; at
the same time he has distributed justice to all like Hermes,
the twice great ; he has moreover ordered, that the returned
emigrants, both of the soldiers and all others who had shown
opposition in time of troubles, should keep the property in the
possession of which they had re-entered ; he has provided also
that of cavalry and infantry forces and ships should be sent
against those who had advanced against Egypt, whether by land
or sea, supporting great expenses in money and provisions, so
that the temples and all the inhabitants of Egypt should be in
safety.
Having gone to Lycopolis, which is in the Busirite nome, a
city which had been seized and fortified against a siege, by
great depots of arms and every other kind of munitions, the
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 25
spirit, of revolt having strengthened itself there for a long time,
among the impious who are assembled in it, had done much
mischief to the temples and inhabitants of Egypt ; and having
laid siege to this place, he surrounded it with entrenchments,
ditches, and strong walls. The Nile having made a great flood
in the eighth year, and as it usually does, inundating the plains,
the King has restrained it, in many places, by dyking the mouths
of the rivers, for which works he has spent no small sum : after
having established both cavalry and infantry troops to watch
them, he took in a short time the city by storm, and destroyed
all the impious ones there, like Hermes and Horus, sons of
Isis and Osiris, had mastered in these same localities the
former revolters. As to the ringleaders of the rebels, under his
father, and who had vexed the country without respecting the
temples, he having come to Memphis to avenge his father and
his own crown, he has punished them all as they deserved. At
the time when he came to celebrate the ceremonies prescribed
on receiving his crown, he further remitted from the temples
that which was due to the royal treasury up to the eighth year,
amounting in provisions and money to no small matter.
Similarly he remitted the value of the cloth of the byssus which
had not been furnished to the royal treasury, as also the
expenses of verification for those which had been so, up to the
same period. He has freed the temples from the tax of an
artabe (about 10 gallons) per arotira (i.e., the Egyptian acre)
of sacred land ; also of the keramion (i.e., a measure) per
aroura of vineyard. He made many donations to the Apis, to
the Mnevis, and to the other sacred animals in Egypt, taking
far. more care than the Kings his predecessors of what relates to
these animals in every circumstance ; and what was necessary
to their burial he has given largely and nobly, as well as the
26
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
sums granted for their special worship, comprising therein the
sacrifice, panegyries, and other prescribed ceremonies. The
privileges of the temples of Egypt, he has maintained them on
the same footing, conformably to the laws ; he has embellished
the Apeion {i.e., the abode of the Apis) with magnificent work,
having spent for this temple in gold, silver, and precious stones
a no small quantity. He has founded temples, shrines, and
altars ; he has restored in turn those that required repairs,
having for all that concerns the divinity, the zeal of a beneficent
god. After new information, he has repaired the chief
honoured temples under his reign as is fit. In reward of which,
the gods have given him health, victory, might, and all other
good things, the crown to remain with him and his children
for all time.
To Good Fortune.
It has seemed fit to the priests of all the temples in the
country, that all the honours bestowed to the ever-living King
Ptolemy, beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes,
as well as those of his parents, gods Philopatores, and those of
his grand-parents, gods Euergetai, and those of the gods
Adelphi, and those of the gods Soteres, should be greatly
increased, and to raise to the ever-living King Ptolemy god
Epiphanes, Eucharistes, an image in each temple, in the
most visible part, which should bear the name of Ptolemy, the
avenger of Egypt ; that close by should be placed standing
the principal god of the temple, presenting him a weapon cf
victory, the whole disposed in the Egyptian fashion ; that the
Priests should perform thrice daily religious services at the
images, and place sacred decorations on them ; and they should
execute the other prescribed ceremonies, as for the other gods.
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 2/
in the panegyries celebrated in Egypt ; tliat they should raise
to King Ptolemy, god Epiphanes, Eucharistes, born of the King
Ptolemy and the Queen Arsinoe, the gods Philopatores, a
statue of wood, and gilt shrine, in each of the temples ; that
they should place them in the sanctuaries with the other shrines ;
and that at the great panegyries when the shrines are taken
out, that of the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes, should be taken
out at the same time ; in order that his shrine should be
distinguished from the others, now and hereafter, it should be
surmounted with the ten gold diadems of the King, before
which should be placed an asp,, as with all the diadems which
bear asps on the other shrines ; that amidst them should be
placed the head-dress called Pschent, wherewith the King was
covered when he entered the temple at Memphis, there to
accomplish the ceremonies prescribed when taking possession
of the throne ; that should be placed on the square face of the
head-dresses to the aforesaid royal ornament, ten golden
phylacteries, whereon shall be written that it is that of the King
who has rendered illustrious the Upper Country and the Lower
Country ; and since the thirtieth of Mesori, when the King’s
birthday is celebrated, as also the seventeenth of Mechir, when
he received the crown from his father (the Priests) have
recognized them as eponymous in the temples, which days are
really cause of many good things for all men ; that they should
be celebrated in honour of him by a panegyry m the temples
of Egypt, monthly that they should perform in them sacrifices,
libations, and all other things appointed as in the other
panegyries, as well as the . . . .in the temples ; that
they should celebrate a feast and a panegyry for the ever-living
and beloved of Ptah, King Ptolemy, god Epiphanes, Eucharistes
yearly in all the temples of the country, from the first of Thoth,
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
28
?c
during five days, wherein they should also bear crowns,
performing the sacrifices and libations and all that is proper ;
that the Priests of the other gods should receive the names of
Priests of the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes, besides the other
names of the gods of whom they are the Priests ; and that they
should mention, in all the decrees and declarations that be
written by them, the priesthood of the King; that every'
individual may be permitted to celebrate the fete, to set up the
aforesaid shrine, and to have it by him, accomplishing all the
ceremonies prescribed in the festivals monthly and annually,
so that it may be known that the Egyptians (increase) the
honours, and honour the god Epiphanes, Eucharistes the King,
as it is legal to do ; finally that this decree be engraved on a
tablet of hard stone, in hieroglyphic, enchorial (or demotic),
and Greek characters ; and place it in every temple of the
first,’ second, and third class, near the image of the ever-living
King.
After the Greek part of the inscription had been read,
an attempt was made to unravel the enchorial or
demotic part, for it was considered to be alphabetic ;
but subsequent research proved that this view was wrong.
The eminent French Oriental scholar Silvestre de Sacy
also worked at the demotic, and succeeded in indicating
the equivalents of the proper names in the Greek version.
Later, Akerblad^ the Swede gave himself up to the study
of the same part of the inscription, and this scholar was
so successful that he was enabled to find and fix the
* ‘ Lettre sur ITnscription figyptienne du Monument de Rosette,’ 8vo.
Paris, 1802. ■ .
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 29
value of some of the characters which formed the proper
names; though, curiously enough, but little was done
towards the decipherment of the hieroglyphic part of
the inscription. A study of the Greek and demotic parts
of the inscription showed that the words Alexander and
Alexandria in the fourth and seventeenth lines of the
Greek inscriptions corresponded to two other groups in
the second and tenth line of the demotic inscription ;
that a group of characters, repeated about thirty times
in the demotic or enchorial inscriptions, corresponded to
the word ‘ king ’ in the Greek ; and that a group of
characters, recurring fourteen times in the demotic or
enchorial, corresponded to the word Ptolemy which
occurs eleven times in the Greek, etc.^
All these little discoveries were helps towards the
grand object of the decipherment of the Egyptian
hieroglyphics ; but it seems very probable that this
would have been accomplished much sooner had not the
scholars of the day had their heads filled with ideas on
the subject which not only led them astray, but which
stopped the progress of the work ; though wh)- they held
their peculiar views, or from whence they obtained them,
is hard to say. As an example of these. Dr. Birch
says ‘ the Chevalier Palin, in 1802-4, did not hesitate
to a-ssert that it was only necessary to translate the
Psalms of David into Chinese, and write them in the
‘ Dr. Birch, ‘ Introduction to the Study of Egyptian Hieroglyphs,’ p. 194 ;
and see Young in the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica London, 1828, art.
Hieroglyphics.
30
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
ancient character of that language, in order to reproduce
the Egyptian papyri, and that these latter contained many
Biblical books. In 1806 M. von Hammer had given to
the world the translation of the work of some Arabic
charlatan, which professed to explain the hieroglyphics.
Lenoir, in 1810, considered them to be Hebrew docu-
ments. An anonymous author, in 1812, thought that
the inscription of the portico of Dendera contained a
translation into hieroglyphs of the Hundredth Psalm.’^
If possible, still more absurd statements on the subject
of the contents of Egyptian inscriptions were made : it
was gravely asserted that one text contained an account
bf a battle between the wicked and the good in the early
days of tlje Egyptian empire about 4000 B.C. ; that
portions of the Bible would be found in another, and that
a third contained abstruse philosophical ideas. It is sad
to see what an amount of learning and energy was
utterly wasted in the attempt to prove these absurd
theories.
But among all this chaos and confusion there were
two men quietly working at the decipherment of
Egyptian in different parts of Europe, and independently
of each other, viz., Thomas Young, born 1773, and
Erangois Champollion, born at Grenoble in 1790. It
was suggested to Young that the unknown language of
the Rosetta Stone was capable of being resolved into an
alphabet of thirty letters f and a very brief account of
- ' Dr. Birch, in Wilkinson’s ‘The Egyptians,’ p. 194.
- By Prof. Vater, ibid., p. 195.
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 3 I
his labours is as follows. He published some account of
the demotic or enchorial writing in the ‘Journal of the
Society of Antiquaries’ in 1817; he was not very
successful in identifying the groups of hieroglyphs,
though after a time he found out the name of Ptolemy,
and that the first hieroglyph in the name was the
equivalent of the demotic or enchorial form. He
obtained this result by arguing that if the demotic was
phonetic, the hieroglyphic must be also. He picked out
from the inscriptions the cartouches of Ptolemy and
Berenice ; and in each of these he identified the phonetic
value of some of the characters ; but when he tried to
read other names by these he failed ; for example, he
read Autocrator for Arsinoe, and Caesar for Euergetes.
His contribution to the decipherment amounted to the
identification of five characters, and this is all that can be
said. Much of his work, as Dr. Birch has said, is
‘ beneath criticism,’ and he failed alike by attributing
wrong values to some of the characters, and by his
interpretation of the meaning of them. As a physicist,
however, Thomas Young was a great thinker, and a very
celebrated man : but it is not true that he deciphered
the Egyptian hieroglyphics, or even that his labours
assisted the real decipherer, Champollion ; because he
had studied and knew a great deal more about demotic
rather than the hieroglyphic language.
About the year 1818, Champollion began the study of
Egyptian. He had busied himself before this date in
studying the Coptic language and the geography of
32
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
ancient Egypt ; and as he had read and studied all that
the ancients had written upon the subject of Egyptian,
he was exceedingly well prepared to grapple with the
difficult task before him. The unfortunate Belzoni had
found at Philie a small obelisk which had a Greek
inscription on the base, and one in hieroglyphics' on
the shaft. A copy of the Greek text was sent in 1822
to Letronne, and afterwards another containing the
hieroglyphs. He at once considered that the latter
must contain the same matter as the former. Here
Champollion’s work began. It was argued that the
subject matter of the Greek would be translated into
hieroglyphs, but as the Greek proper names rvould not
give any sense in Egyptian, they could not be translated ;
therefore it is absolutely necessary that the sounds which
formed the proper names in Greek should be written in
Egyptian characters. If this argument is correct, certain
phonetic signs or characters stand revealed.
In the Egyptian text of the obelisk we have a group of
signs enclosed in an oval, and this group is repeated a
large number of times. Now the name of Ptolemy occurs
in the Greek several times, therefore this group of hiero-
glyphs must represent the name Ptolemy. If this is
the case, then the first sign is P, the second T, and so on.
Now the way to prove if these signs have been rightly
read, is to apply them to other names written both in
hieroglyphs and in Greek where these same signs or
letters occur or are supposed to occur. The Greek
inscription mentioned above gave the name of a king
DECIPHERMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 33
called Ptolemy, and of a queen called Cleopatra ; on
comparing the hieroglyphic signs which were supposed to
be the equivalent of the Greek name Ptolemaios, with the
group on the Rosetta Stone also supposed to be Ptolemaios,
they were found to correspond exactly ; hence it was
certain that the group was the Greek name Ptolemy
written in hieroglyphic letters. If now the first name on
the obelisk of Philae was that of Ptolemy, the second
must be that of Cleopatra.
The following is the way in which the names Ptolemy
and Cleopatra are written in Egyptian characters : — •
I. Cleopatra.
II. Ptolemy, living for ever, beloved of the god Ptah.
Next, Champollion supposed that each hieroglyph had
the value of the initial syllable of the object which is
represented,^ and re-writing these names with numbers
attached to each sign* we have : —
I. Cleopatra.
2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
8. 9. 10. 11. N
^ (| -^l
^ ® J
* Dr. Birch, in Wilkinson’s ‘The Egyptians,’ p. 199.
C
34
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
II. Ptolemy.
Now, sign No. i in the name Cleopatra represents
a ‘ knee,’ and as the Coptic^ word for knee begins with k,
this sign should be K.
Sign No. 2 in the same name represents a ‘lion
as the Coptic word for lion begins with /, this sign
should be L. It will be noticed that this same sign
occurs in the name of Ptolemy, No. 4.
Sign No. 3 in the same name represents a ‘ reed,’ and
forms Nos. 6 and 7 in the name Ptolemy; as the
Coptic word for reed begins with a, this sign should be
A or E.
Sign No. 4 in the same name represents a ‘ noose,’ and
must be equivalent to O. Sign No. 5 in the same name,
being the same as No. i in the name Ptolemy, must
therefore be P. Sign No. 6 in the same name represents
an ‘ eagle ; ’ and as the Coptic word for eagle begins with
a, and as it is the same as sign No. 9 in the name
Cleopatra in the place where the a recurs, it must be A.
Sign No. 7 represents a ‘ hand ;’ as the Coptic name
for hand begins with /, this sign should be T. Sign
No. 8, in the same name, represents a ‘mouth;’ as the
Coptic word for mouth begins with r, this sign should
be R. Of sign No. 9 we have already spoken. Signs
’ We omit here the other signs which are given in the cartouche above,
as they form titles of the king, and are not necessary for our present
purpose.
^ The ancient Egyptian language is the mother of Coptic.
DECIPHERMENT OE THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 35
No. 10 (the same as No. 2 in the name Ptolemy) and
No. 1 1 have no equivalent in the Greek ; but subsequent
researches have proved that these signs are placed
after the name of a female. If we look at the signs in
the name of Ptolemaios, we find that only Nos. 5 and 8
remain without values, and it is easy to see from the
Greek that they must represent M and S respectively.
Going back now to the signs ^ ^ ^ unnumbered
cartouche, we recognize the first two 0 at once, for we
have had them both in the names of Ptolemy and
Cleopatra ; and as the Greek version tells us that
Ptolemy is ‘ beloved of Phtha,’ we know that the third
sign I must have the value /q and that the fourth must
mean ‘beloved.’ Champollion, after studying the other
names of the later rulers of Egypt, was enabled to put
together a very fair list of values of the signs, and b)'
continuous work and study he succeeded in finding out
many of the more difficult values of rare and uncommon
signs. All difficulties were not yet overcome, for some
of the signs were syllabic ; but little by little these
difficulties melted away, and it became certain that the
entire solution of the problem of Egyptian decipher-
ment was not very far off.
Eor about nine years Champollion pursued his
studies in the most unremitting manner, and work after
work issued from his pen, containing texts, translations,
explanations and information of the greatest value about
ancient Egypt and its people.
C 2
36
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
But although ChampolHon had, quite alone, set the
decipherment of Egyptian upon a sure and firm base,
there lacked not men who started new theories on the
subject, and fought for them with a degree of fierceness
and zeal that now appear almost incredible. A
large number of people objected to such a simple
explanation of the hieroglyphics, and wished and hoped
to find in them something of the mysterious and the
marvellous. Others maintained that the language was
sacred, and proceeded to divide the signs into classes,
to understand which is more difficult than Egyptian
itself. Worse than all, there still appeared works
containing explanations of Egyptian texts based upon
the old ideographic theory;* and Klaproth attacked
Champollion on every possible occasion, relying upon
his having found out a few small and unimportant details
in which Champollion had tripped ; while others still
believed in the absurd interpretations published by
Kircher in his ‘ (Edipus Aegyptiacus.’ Little by little,
however, Champollion’s system was gaining ground, and
many scholars who published works at that time
hastened to supplement their arguments by proofs drawn
from the new source of information.
About the year 1837 the late Dr. Lepsius published
a letter to Rosellini, in which he analysed and laid down
the structure of the language in his usual masterly
* For example, Janelli on the Rosetta Stone, published under the title of
‘ Fundanienta Hermeneutica Hieroglyphicse Crypticte veterum Gentium.’
8vo. Neapol., 1830.
DECIPHERMliNT OF THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 37
manner; and from this time onwards the good work
advanced rapidly. Students arose in England, France,
Germany, Italy, and elsewhere ; but until very recently
there remained some who persistently refused to acknow-
ledge that Champollion’s system of decipherment was the
true one ; and so late as 1862 Sir G. C. Lewis maintained
in his ‘ Astronomy of the Ancients ’ that, practically,
the tradition of the Egyptian language had not been
preserved unbroken, either in v.'riting or orally, and
since a period had elapsed during which it was entirely
forgotten, it could never be restored. For the refutation
of this gentleman’s ideas, the reader is referred to the
learned and masterly article by Mr. Renouf in the
‘Atlantis,’ VoL IV., 1861, pp. 23-57.
Thus has grown the edifice of the decipherment of
the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the stones bearing them,
some little, some big, having been shaped ages ago in
many distant lands. By reading two names on the
obelisk of Philce and on the Rosetta Stone, and by
spelling out the Greek, Roman, and Persian names of the
rulers of Egypt, has this great work been accomplished.
38
CHAPTER II.
The Egyptian Language and Writing.
The Egyptians used a variety of substances for writing
upon, such as stone, wood, leather, linen, and papyrus.
When stone of any sort was used for this purpose the
characters were cut into it with a chisel : and many of
the inscriptions upon sandstone and the like were filled
in with the most beautiful colours. Unfortunately,
however, much of the colour has disappeared and now, in
many cases, only traces of it can be seen. In the better
class of sculptures the details of the object represented
are most carefully carved, and some characters are cut
into the stone to the depth of nearly an inch. In the
case of wood, the characters are sometimes cut as in
stone, and sometimes merely painted.
Papyrus was the material which was in the greatest
demand for making copies of the Book of the Dead,
literary compositions, and official documents. The
plant grew in Upper Egypt, the Delta, and other parts
of the country. To fit it for writing purposes the
interior of the stalks were cut into thin slices in the
direction of their length ; these were laid on a board
in a row, and similar slices were placed upon them at
ooden palette with reeds for writing Roll ol papyrus in the British Museum,
wliich belonged originally to “ Ainasis
the good god, and lord of the two
countries.” Bri ish Museum.
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE AND WRITING,
41
right angles ; and when their surfaces had been joined
by a kind of gum or glue, and pressed and dried, the
papyrus was completed Inscribed papyri are of different
widths, viz., six, eleven, twelve and a half, thirteen and
even fourteen and a half inches ; while their length varies
from a few inches to one hundred and fifty feet.^
The scribe wrote on papyrus with a reed, the
hieroglyphs being generally traced in outline. He carried
his inks in small hollows in his palette. The greater
part of the ordinary inscriptions on papyrus are written
with black ink, but directions for the repetition of
certain passages or rubrics, and the initial paragraphs, are
written with red. Texts written in other colours are found,
but they are not common. Where it was possible the
scribe represented an object in its natural colour ; he
made the sun red, the moon yellow, trees, plants, and all
vegetables, green ; but objects requiring out of the way
colours were not so well done, owing to the comparatively
limited supply of colours at the disposal of the scribe.
Reeds cut like modern pens were also used for writing,
and specimens of these may be seen in the British
Museum (North Gallery, 2nd Egyptian Room).
The scribe’s palettes were made of wood, ivory, and
stone ; they were of different lengths and widths, varying
from five or six inches to twenty in length, and from
two to three inches in breadth. They were frequently
* Wilkinson’s ‘Ancient Egyptians,’ ii. p. 180.
^ Dr. Birch, in Wilkinson’s ‘Ancient Egyptians,’ ii. p. 182; Bunsen’s
‘ Egypt,’ V. p. 590.
42
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
inscribed, and at times the characters were most
beautifully inlaid with lapis lazuli. There is an oblong
hollow in them wherein the writing reeds may be placed ;
and at the end are generally shallow holes for the ink,
traces of which, of a red and black colour, still remain
in some of them. Palettes are sometimes dedicated to
the god Thoth, and the British Museum possesses
among others one which originally belonged to a
scribe of the time of Amenophis III. (about B.C. 1500),
and one of a scribe who lived in the time of Rameses
II. (about B.C. 1350). In this latter, five of the scribe’s
reeds still remain. The office of scribe was very im-
portant, and was generally held by a person belonging
to the priestly or first caste of Egyptians.^
The hierogylphics may be divided into two classes : (i )
those representing ideas, and (2) those used for sounds.
For example, the picture of an obelisk, expressed
that object ; a vulture, expressed that bird ; and so
on. Sometimes, however, the cause was put for the effect,
and the reverse : thus a palette and reed, represented
‘ writing ’ (also ‘ scribe ’) ; and dishevelled hair, stood
for ‘ grieving,’ because the hair was disturbed and uncared
for in a time of trouble. It will be readily understood
that the ideographic part of the writing is much older
than the phonetic ; and in the very early texts we find the
use of ideographs greater than in those of a later period.
' Wilkinson’s ‘Ancient Egyptians,’ i. p. 157.
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE AND WRITING. 43
This is what one would expect, because all nations u.se
a pictorial language long before they come to phonetics.
The pictorial method of representation in the texts is
exceedingly useful, for it frequently suggests the right
meaning of a word ; and where new words are found
phonetically spelt, but without ideographs, it is often
difficult to find out what they mean. An ideograph
was often repeated three or more times, to express the
plural, thus : —
‘glorified souls,’ j| jj j| ‘seats,’
‘roads,’ and 111111111111111111 ‘ the two cycles of
the gods.’ It mu.st be mentioned that every hieroglyph
could be used to express the sound of the object which
it represented.^ Custom, however, set aside a certain
number which were used to express the sounds of other
objects. For example represents a ‘ plough,’ and
a ‘mouth,’ but means ‘beloved ;’ <z:> represents
a ‘ mouth,’ and ‘water’; but means ‘name.’
/VWWS
Under the class of phonetics must also be mentioned
those which have syllabic values, such as iner,
\\
‘ bones,’ liiiimr ‘ doors,’ T T 'I * gods,’
hem, and X37 neb. A large number of these are used
as determinative of sound ; for example, the value of
f but we find i.e., a-fi-x + the syllable
•^;also he.,
I AAAA/SA 1
a-a -f the syllable and so on.
* Dr. Birch, in Bunsen’s ‘ Egypt,’ v, p. 597.
44
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Certain hieroglyphs were used as Determinatives.
By a Determinative is meant a sign which represents
the idea, either directly or indirectly, of the word written ;
and a determinative could be placed either before or
after a word. For example, in the word for ‘ child,’
^ the first three signs give the word for
child, and then follows the determinative, which is the
picture of a child ; the word i \\ i d^s, means
‘tortoise;’ but it is written in the texts with the
picture for ‘tortoise ’ after it ; so, csri The few
following words will illustrate the way in which the
phonetic signs and ideographs are employed in writing
words : —
ses/^
bird’s nest.
aua
emsuJi
qerJiu ... night.
man
menfat ... soldier.
tart
scorpion.
to shine.
o.x.
crocodile.
cat.
worm.
THE EGYPT[AN LANGUAGE AND WRITING. 45
inayait ... pair of scales.
j] W
¥
ddit
aaani
iierau
bee.
moon.
ape.
vulture.
The number of hieroglyphic signs may be considered
to be about two thousand, and a short list of the
commoner phonetics is as follows : —
J
ra
a
d
d
b
P
f
h
h (or kh)
W
G
i
(S
s
s (or s/i)
t
th
t
X
The arrangement of the hieroglyphics in inscriptions
varies, but generally they face to the right, and are
read from right to left like Arabic, Syriac, Hebrew, etc.
Sometimes they face to the left, and are to be read from
left to right ; but very often they are arranged in
perpendicular rows, with carefully drawn lines separating
46
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
each row. Instances have occurred where the characters
face in one direction, but are to be read in the other.
The hieroglyphics were particularly useful for the
purpose of ornament ; and when each hieroglyphic is
painted in the colours which most nearly re.sembles the
object which it represents, the effect is vivid and
gorgeous. The scribe or mason frequently sacrificed
the strict order of the letters in a word to his love of
symmetrical arrangement : in the papyri, however, the
right order is usually kept. For an example of the
ornamental effect produced by a collection of hieroglyphs,
see the extract from the text inscribed upon the Pyramid
of Pepi, printed round pages i lO, in : and the following
is a specimen of Egyptian with interlinear transliteration,
and literal translation.
Specimen of Interlinp:ar Transliteration
AND Translation.^
au arna hesest ret hereret nutaru heres
Done have I behests of men and the will of the gods ;
au ta - na ta en heqr sesau - na
whei'efore given have I bread to the hungry, satiated have I
atet au ses - na nutar em pa - f an
the indigent, followed have I the god in house his, not
' See ‘Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,’ vol. viii. p. 309.
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE AND WRITING. 47
aa re -a em s'enit an
hath magnified month my against superior officers, not is
J\
pet em
there stretch in stride
I
nemt - a
I
p o <=•
^ /I
AA/VWV c£ I
sem - a her sa xent
my, walk ' I according to measure.
ar - na em mat mer en suten
Done have I laiv beloved by the king.
13-
/WWW
re;^ - kua entet
knew I what
utu-nef set
commanded he it.
/WWV
3.^ ^
res - na
ivatchcd I
her ast - a er seqa baiu - f tua - na tua - f
at seat my to exalt zuill his, rose I for ivorship his
hru neb er ta - na ab - a %enti t'et - f
day every, gave I heart my to what said he
an mahi her s'a - nef ^er - a
ivithout hesitating at what determined he |
48
THE DWELLERS ON THE NII.E.
tet - na metrit (?) hna metit
took I uprightness and fairness.
peh - na enen her kar - a qebeb hesna - ua
arrived I at zvhat zvas for silence, refreshing, favoured me
^37
neb - a
I
her
^
AAAAW ^ ^
men^-a
AAAWA
maa - nef
rut
lord the king my for beneficeiice zny, sazv he that vigorous
aa - a an ab - a se;^;enti ast - a
zvcre hands my through heart zny advancing seat my.
Hieroglyphics were employed for inscriptions on public
monuments, etc, but two other characters of writing
are found, the hieratic, and the demotic or enchorial ;
this latter is not comparatively very ancient, and a
specimen of it is given in the reproduction of the Rosetta
Stone p. 20. The hieratic was the cursive hand, and
was much used by the priests in making their reports
of government transactions, and in writing down literary
compositions. It was taken from the hieroglyphic, as
the following example, with the hieroglyphic transcription
beneath, will show.
THE EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE AND WRITING. 49
Hieratic Writing.'
Transcription.
To what group or family of languages Egyptian
belongs, is at present an undecided point : there is a
great influx of Semitic words about 1400 B.C. ; for
further information on this subject the reader is referred
to the works of Benfey, Lepsius, Brugsch, Renan, and
others.
' See Birch, ‘ Select Papyri in the Hieratic Character,’ Part II, pi. xi,
page 5, line 9, and page 6, line i. The hieratic text is written from right
to left, but the hieroglyphs read the opposite way.
D
50
CHAPTER III.
The Land of Egypt, its People and their
History.
•
Egypt lies between the twenty-fourth and thirty-second
parallels of north latitude, in the north-east of Africa ;
it is about six hundred miles long, and is really com-
prised of a strip of land on each bank of the Nile.
This strip varies in width from ten to thirty miles.
The Egyptians called their country Kem, i.e., ‘ the
black,’ because of the very dark colour of the soil. It
bore a variety of names, each having some particular
application ; and among these must come Ta-mera,
which means the ‘ land of the inundation.’ The
Assyrians called the land Musiir, the Hebrews Misraiin,
and the Arabs to this day Misr. The Egyptian kings
called themselves ‘ lords of the two countries,’ thereby
indicating that the land was divided into two great
parts, the north and the south : very probably a
remembrance of the ‘ double ’ land is preserved in the
Hebrew name Misraim, which is a dual form. The
kings are also called on the monuments ‘ lords of the
white and red crown ; ’ the former signifying their rule
over Upper Egypt, and the latter their dominion over
\
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC.
51
Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt was divided into twenty-
two nomes, and Lower Egypt into twenty.^ Hitherto
the name ‘ Egypt ’ has remained unexplained ; but
.some have supposed that it is derived from Ha-ka-ptah,
{i.e., the temple of the genius of Ptah), the sacred name
of Memphis.
From what country did the Egyptians come ?
Ethnologists and anthropologists, having examined a
large number of skulls of mummies, have come to the
conclusion that the Egyptians belong to the Caucasian \j
race. Hence it is generally understood now that some
thousands of years before the Christian era (how many
it is quite impossible to say) the nation which
afterwards inhabited the Nile set out from Asia, ful-
some reason still unexplained, journeyed westward,
and crossing the Isthmus of Suez, entered Africa, and
settling down by the Nile, founded there a mighty
kingdom. This agrees too with what is stated in the
table of nations given by Moses, who says, ‘ And the
sons of Ham ; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and
Canaan.’^ Now Ham (or Kham) is the same as Khem,
Egypt, and a proof of this may be deduced from the
Psalms, where it is said, ‘And smote all the firstborn in
Egypt ; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of
Ham; ’3 and again, ‘Wondrous works in the land of
Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea.’^ Now the
Mizraim mentioned in the table of nations is Egypt itself.
' For a list, see Brugsch, ‘ Egypt under the Pharaohs,’ ii. p. 8.
^ Gen. X. 6. ^ Ps. Ixxviii. 51. ■* Ps. cvi. 22.
D 2
52
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
As for the other sons of Ham, the inhabitants of
Kush, i.e., the region called after the son of Ham, are
represented on the Egyptian monuments. Their bodily
appearance is the same, though their skin is a little
darker, and at the outset they appear to have had a
religion and speech akin to that of the Egyptians.^ We
find Phut, most probably, in the Punt of the inscriptions,
the land from whence spices came, which was situated
to the south of Egypt on both sides of the Red Sea. As
early as 2500 years before Christ, the hieroglyphics tell us
that a king of Egypt sent one of his people called Anti,
to bring back a peculiarly valuable kind of frankincense
from this land. The fourth son, Canaan, is represented
by the original inhabitants of Canaan, who were pro-
bably near relatives of the Egyptians. It has been
thought by some scholars that there are indications in
the inscriptions which would lead one to suppose that
the Egyptians considered that the home of the race was
the Nile ; this idea, however, has never been worked out.
Some again, following a Greek tradition, have thought
that the civilization of Egypt came from Ethiopia ; but
all modern researches show that this idea has no ground-
work of truth.
The Egyptians of the later empire believed that men
had been made out of clay upon a potter’s wheel-
They believed that the god Harmachis^ attacked his foes,
who fled in all directions from before him. Those who
' Wiedemann, ‘ ^gyptische Geschichte,’ p. 23.
" Chabas, ‘Etudes,’ p. i ; Naville, ‘ Mythe d’Horus.’
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC.
53
came to the south became the Cushites, those who came
to the north became the Amu, those who came to the
west the Libyans, and those who came to the east the
S/iasu; and thus were the four races of mankind made.
Of the Amu more will be said further on ; for it was
from this race that the Khita nation, so celebrated for
having waged war successfully with Rameses II., and
recently identified with the Biblical Hittites, sprang.
What was the Egyptian like in stature ? His head was
large, his forehead square, his eyes large, his cheeks full,
his mouth wide, his nose short and rounded, and his lips
thick. ^
The ancient history of Egypt goes back into a far dis-
tant past. The exact time when the early settlers on the
Nile first made their home in the ‘ black ’ land is quite
unknown ; and who ruled them and gave them laws is,
historically, also unknown. Only one thing about the
matter is quite certain, and that is that the migration
from the East must have taken place some thousands of
years before Christ.
The Egyptians believed that the first three dynasties
of kings who ruled over Egypt were composed of gods,
Avho reigned in succession, and of a series of beings who
were called ‘ the followers of Horus.’^
The first dynasty consisted of a number of gods,
Ptah, Ra, Shu, Seb, Osiris, Set or Typhon, and Horus :
these were supposed to have reigned for 12,300 years,
' Wiedemann, ‘ jLgyptische Geschichte,’ p. 25.
^ Maspero, ‘ Histoire Ancienne, p. 18.
54
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
according to Manetho, a celebrated priest of Heliopolis
who flourished about B. C. 261. Of the next two
dynasties we only know that they were termed, it is
supposed, ‘the followers of Horus.’ So that at present
nothing is really known of the Egyptian rulers before
Menes, the first historical king of Egypt. Many dates
have been fixed by scholars for the reign of this king :
Champollion-Figeac thought about B.C. 5867, Bunsen
3623, Lepsius 3892, Brugsch 4455, and Wilkinson 2320;
but it must be understood that a correct chronology of
the early empire of Egypt is not at present possible, for
only approximate data can be given.^
[jj Mena or Menes, the first king of Egypt,
came from the town of Teni, the Greek This, near
Abydos. According to Herodotus, he built the great
temple of Ptah, established a regular worship there, and
is said to have founded the great city of Memphis,
which name means ‘ the good place.’ He built a large
dyke to protect this city, and it is that which even
to-day protects Gizeh from excessive inundation. He
was a mighty warrior, and waged war with the Libyans.
The tradition of his death is that he was devoured by a
' Since it is impossible to give here an account of each king of Egypt
and his works, we can only refer to the most important of them, reserving
our special attention for those kings with whom the children of Israel
came in contact. On pages 12 to 14 we have given a list of the kings and
the approximate dates of their reigns from Brugsch’s ‘ Egypt under the
Pharaohs : ’ and for fuller information on matters of Egyptian history we
refer the reader to Dr. Birch’s ‘Egypt,’ Wiedemann’s ‘ Higyptische
Geschichte,’ and the above-mentioned work of Brugsch.
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC.
55
crocodile. He was succeeded by his son Athothis, who
is said to have written books on anatomy. Remarkably
little is known of Menes, for none of his inscriptions
have been found ; his name, however, is placed first in
the list of kings.
The next Egyptian king of importance was Ata, or as
the Greeks called him, Ouenephes ; and he is famous for
having built pyramids at Kochome near Sakkarah. Of
the remaining kings of the first and second dynasties but
little is known. During the reign of Necherophes or
Nefer-ka-Seker, the first king of the third or Memphitic
dynasty, we are told by Manetho that an eclipse took
place, and the Libyans, with whom this king was
fighting, were so terrified that they submitted im-
mediately.
The fourth dynasty was also from Memphis, and it was
under these kings that Egypt became famous ; it must
be remembered that at this period we are able to obtain
information from the monuments which the kings of the
fourth dynasty erected. During the reign of Senefru
its first king, a very valuable mine of
turquoise was found in Arabia at Wady Magharah, and
traces of the workings, etc., are still to be seen. An
invasion of the Amu took place in the reign of this king,
who appears to have been occupied in various wars.
Some have thought that the pyramid of Meydoum
marks the place of his sepulchre, but his body has not
hitherto been found.
56
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
or Cheops (b.c. 3733), the
successor of Senefru, is celebrated chiefly for the
immense pyramid, called ‘ Height,’ which he built at
Gizeh, the height of which is 450 feet, and the breadth
at the base 746 feet. The pyramids which come next
in point of size are the pyramids of Chephren and
Mycerinus ; the former is 447 feet high, and measures
690 feet at the base ; while the latter is 203 feet hi^h,
and measures 352 feet at the base. The pyramids were
graves ; the plan of construction, as laid down by
Lepsius, is as follows : When a new king a.scended the
throne he began at once to build a pyramid. The
site having been chosen, the ground was levelled, and a
slanting shaft was bored out of the .solid rock ; and at the
end of this shaft a rectangular chamber was made, which
was intended to hold the sarcophagus containing the
king’s body. On the flat site a comparatively small
building was made, the outsides of which were steep
steps. If the king died at this stage of the work, he was
laid in his sarcophagus, and the steep steps of the little
building were filled up with triangular pieces of stone,
and so its sides became smooth, and the pyramid, though
little, was complete. If, on the other hand, the king
lived another year, a second layer of stones was built on
to the four sides of the pyramid ; and for every year the
king lived a fresh layer of stones was built on to the
four sides ; but the layers became gradually smaller.
When the king died no further layers were added, and
the pyramid was finished either by the steps being filled
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 57
up with exactly fitting pieces of stone, or another layer
of stones was added, and then the edges of the stones
were chiselled away until each side of the structure was
perfectly smooth. It is perfectly evident that such a
tomb might well be considered everlasting, for it was
inaccessible to the attacks of the elements, and its
destruction would be a very difficult piece of work even
for modern nations. The size of a pyramid then, varied
generally with the length of the king’s life ; but vanity
and a desire to possess the largest pyramid, may have
induced a king to add two layers or even more for each
year of his life.
There are some who doubt the truth of this theory
of pyramid construction, but it has been pointed out
that the nearer the inside the better is the work found
to be ; while each subsequent layer seems to have been
more carelessly and hastily built than its fellow.^ The
Egyptian word for pyramid is abincr. The greater
part of a pyramid was built of limestone, but red
granite was used for certain parts, such as the
interior of the passages, of the Great Pyramid. Small
passages leading upwards and downwards are found
inside some of the pyramids. When the mummy of
the king had been deposited in the sarcophagus inside
the chamber within the pyramid, all the various path-
ways were filled up with blocks of stone.
' Various elaborate theories have been propounded in respect of the
building of the pyramids, and the reader is referred to Prof Piazzi Smyth’s
works, and ‘ The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh,’ by Mr. \V. M. F. Petrie.
58
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Even to the Egyptians, who were accustomed to
build pyramids, such constructions must have appeared
difficult ; and an idea will be obtained of the amount of
labour necessary for the building of the pyramid of
Cheops, when we consider that the causeway along
which the stone was brought took ten years to build,
the work being performed by a gang of one hundred
thousand men, changed every three months ; thus four
million men were employed on this work alone, while it
required seven millions more to build the pyramid itself.^
The number of chambers in the pyramids has been
accounted for by supposing that when the pyramid was
begun a subterranean chamber was made for the royal
tomb : but when the king lived long, and the pyramid
grew larger, they built another chamber and left the
first one empty. If the king should still continue to
live, and the pyramid grew very large, another chamber
was built to receive his sarcophagus and mummy.
These first chambers were then probably used for his
queen or his relatives.
The family of Cheops was buried near his pyramid,
and Lepsius, during his journey across the plains stretch-
ing from Meydoum to Memphis, found the remains of
no less than seventy-five pyramids, including those of
various members of the family of Cheops. Cheops
waged war against his enemies, and the rocks in the
Wady Maghara represent him not only in combat with
them, but victorious over them. He is said to have been
’ Birch, ‘ Egypt,’ p. 35.
The Sphinx.
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 6 1
a great tyrant and a very wicked man ; but Manetho
went so far as to say that in his old age he repented of
his folly and wrote a book, which posterity considered
holy. Another story is that the Egyptian nation hated
him so bitterly on account of the forced labour which he
imposed upon them, that it was necessary to bury him in
a subterranean chamber surrounded on all sides by the
waters of the Nile. During the reign of Cheops a
medical papyrus, now in the British Museum, was found
by a priest in a temple, by moonlight.^
Chephren, the successor of
Cheops, also built a pyramid, which he called ‘ Great,’ near
that of Cheops ; it is most beautifully made, but is not so
large as that of his predecessor. Chephren is also justly
renowned for having built the small temple behind the
Sphinx. The Sphinx (called in Egyptian Hu) is really
an immense lion with a man’s head and represented the
god Harmachis, or the sun on the horizon [O], Between <
its paws is a narrow way leading to a temple which has
been made in front of the figure ; and as the name of
Chephren is found in inscriptions on the spot, it has
been supposed by some that this king caused the Sphinx
to be hewn out of the living rock ; but it is not certain.
The total height of the monument is about 65 feet, and
its length about 190 feet. The face of this magnificent
monster was originally coloured red, and covered with
polished stone, but almost every trace of this covering
' See ‘ Zeitschrift fiir Aegyptische Sprache,’ 1871, p. 62.
62
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
has now disappeared. The beard is in the British Museum.
The features are said to have been solemn, majestic,
and benignant. Its nose has been quite destroyed, and
many visitors to the Sphinx now-a-days think that this
magnificent figure, which has seen hundreds of genera-
tions rise and decay, which has gazed across the fiery
sands of the desert for thousands of years, and to whom
the duration of an empire is but a few years, exists solely
for them to chip and carve their names upon.
U U' LlJ Menkau-Rd, or Mycerinus, like his
two predecessors, built for himself a pyramid, and is
supposed to have reigned sixty-three years. Tradition
makes him to have been a pious and good king, and one
who was a devout worshipper of the god Osiris. An
attempt was made in the year 1196 A.D. to entirely
destroy the pyramid which he built ; but in reality,
his pyramid, which is the third at Gizeh, is the least
damaged. Colonel Vyse says that when he had
reached the sarcophagus chamber inside the pyramid,
he found there the stone sarcophagus of the king, and
the wooden cover of the inside coffin, which was made
of cedar. The body of the king had been carried
to the upper chamber in the pyramid, and had
literally been torn to pieces, most probably when the
pyramid was broken open A.D. 1196 in search of treasure.
The sarcophagus and cover of the coffin were shipped on
board an English vessel ; but, alas ! the ship was wrecked
and the sarcophagus found a resting-place at the bottom
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 63
of the sea near Gibraltar. Fortunately the wooden cover
was cast up by the sea, and the British Museum (third
Egyptian Room) possesses this, together with a small
fragment of the stone sarcophagus, and some fragments
of the mummy. On the cover are two lines of inscrip-
tion, which are translated by Dr. Birch d ‘ Osiris, king of
Upper and Lower Egypt, Menkaura, the ever living, born
of Nut (the goddess of the celestial waters), substance of
Seb ; thy mother Nut is spread over thee ; she renders
thee divine by annihilating thy enemies. O king
Menkaura, living for ever.’ These fragments of mummy,
coffin, and sarcophagus are of the greatest interest ; for
not only do they show that mummifying was at that
time a well-understood art, but they speak to us across
a gulf of five thousand five hundred years, and tell us
something of their religious views and ideas. Moreover,
there is very little difference between the shape of
the hieroglyphs of those days and those of a much later
date ; and however far we go back, we never come to
an inscription belonging to a period in which we can see
that the Egyptians were learning to write.
Mycerinus was followed by a king called Sheps-es-kaf,
and with him the great and important fourth dynasty
closes.
We pass over the kings of the fifth and sixth dynasties,
merely remarking that their united reigns occupied a
period of about four hundred years, and that what is
' For other versions, see Brugsch, ‘ Egypt under the Pharaohs,’ p. 83 ; and
Wiedemann, ‘ Geschichte,’ p. 192.
64
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
generally known as the ‘ Old Empire ’ came to an end
with this dynasty about three thousand years before
Christ.
Very little beyond the names of the kings who belonged
to the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh
dynasties is known ; and a gap of about five hundred
years occurs in the history which it is absolutely impos-
sible to fill up in detail.
The first king of the twelfth dynasty was called
Amenemha ; he did battle with a Lybian tribe called
the Mat'iu, and defeated the Uaua of Nubia in the twenty-
ninth year of his reign. During his reign Egypt enjoyed
great tranquillity, and the people from the highest to the
lowest received the proper care due to them. In his
later years a conspiracy was formed against him ; but he
was fortunate enough to escape the death by which he
was threatened at the hand of his foes, who attacked
him in his bed-room at night. His son Usertsen I. was
associated with him in the kingdom during the last
years of his reign ; and he wrote a book for this son full
of instructive sayings, a late copy of which is now in the
British Museum.
Usertsen I. was occupied for some years in fighting a
confederacy of Ethiopian tribes ; and during the first
years of his reign he built some magnificent edifices in
Heliopolis, and completed several of the works under-
taken by his father ; he also had gold brought from
Nubia, and turquoise from the peninsula of Sinai. A
beautiful inscription at Beni-Hassan records that a
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC 65
prince named Amen, at the head of four hundred men,
accompanied the king in one of his Ethiopian wars ; he
describes himself as being an upright, honest, and
indefatigable servant of the king, doing his behests in
and out of season ; rendering up to him whatever was
due to him without keeping back the least particle for
himself, giving strict justice to all, showing kindness to
the fatherless and widow, the poor and the distressed,
taking nought of the poor man’s crop, nor accepting the
person of a great man before his humbler fellow ; and
he boasts that having ploughed the whole of his land
from the north to the south, there was not a hungry
person in the whole land. Following the example of
his father, Usertsen I. associated his son Amenemha II.
in the rule of the kingdom during the last few years of
his life, and the like was done by Amenemha in respect
of his son Usertsen 11. During the reign of this monarch
there lived a prince called Khnum-hetep, the son of
Nehara and his wife Bakat. His official position was
that of chief of the district of Menat-Khufu, but our
attention is drawn to him by his tomb, which still exists.
Everything connected with the life of an Egyptian,
the appliances of art, the tools of trade, sacrificial scenes,
and scenes of life itself, are represented by picture and
hieroglyph on Egyptian tombs with wonderful accuracy
and beauty. One scene more than all others demands
our attention, for in it some have seen a representation
of Jacob’s arrival in Egypt. It would appear that a
family of thirty-seven people belonging to the Amu
66
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
race emigrated to Egypt in the reign of Usertsen IL,
and brought with them an eye-paint called mestevi,
which was considered of great value. The features of
these people are Jewish, their garments are of different
shape, pattern and colours from those of the Egyptians ;
the leader is better dressed than his fellows, and is
called Abesha. The rest of the company is composed
of men (armed with bows and arrows, and spears),
women, and children ; one man plays a seven-stringed
lyre ; and then follow the baggage animals. At all
events such a picture will give an idea of what the
arrival of a party of foreigners in Egypt would look
like ; and when we read in the hieroglyphs that the
chief of the party brought the valuable eye unguent to
the chief of the land, we are reminded of Jacob’s speech
to his sons, ‘ Carry down the man a present, a little balm,
and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.’^
The next king, Usertsen HE, continued the wars against
the Ethiopians, and built the fortress of Samneh. The
struggle between the Ethiopians and, the Egyptians
appears to have been very severe ; and at Samneh there
was a tablet erected which forbade any negroes to pass
by this place, unless they were in boats laden with goats,
oxen, or other animals. Eventually the Egyptians were
victorious. About fifteen hundred years after, Thoth-
mes IL deified king Usertsen III., and caused festivals
to be celebrated in his honour.
Amenemha III., the successor of Usertsen III., is
' Gen. xliii. ii. (See Frontispiece also.)
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 67
renowned not for wars or conquests, but for a thoroughly
useful piece of work, whose benefit to the people of that
day it would be hard to estimate, and still harder to over-
rate. It is well known that the prosperity of Egypt de-
pends upon a regular inundation, neither too great nor
too little, of the Nile. If it is too little, then there ensues
a famine, and if it is too great, there is also a famine.
Amenemha III. sought to lessen the danger of the
starvation of his people by building the enormous lake
Moeris (in Egyptian Mi-ur, ‘the great water’), in the
district called the Eayoum, in the west of Egypt, in
which the surplus water of the inundation might be
stored up for use in time of need. It was surrounded on
all sides by dams, and was connected by a canal with the
Nile. The lake was stocked with fish. In the Museum
at Boulak there is preserved part of a papyrus which
gives a plan of the lake and canal. The constructor
of this work also built a pyramid 246 feet high, and the
wonderful palace called the Labyrinth, which some say
had three hundred rooms above ground, and the same
number below ; Herodotus, however, gives the immense
number of four thousand five hundred.
The last king of the twelfth dynasty was Amenemha
IV. ; and from this period (about 2200 B.C.) to the
eighteenth dynasty there is a gap of about five hundred
years. It is during this break that the rule of the
Hyksos or ‘Shepherd Kings’ comes in. Having
migrated into Egypt from the East, they established
themselves at Memphis, and made themselves masters
E 2
68
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
of the whole country ; but they were expelled from
Egypt finally by Ahmes, the first king of the eighteenth
dynasty, about 1700 B.C. Before their downfall wars
had been going on for several years between these rulers
from the East and such of the native chiefs as were able
to muster armed men and to make an attempt to liberate
their country.
The British Museum possesses a very valuable papyrus
relating to this period, the importance of which was
first recognized by De Rouge. It appears that the
last ‘Shepherd King,’ Apepi II., was a worshipper of
the god Sutech, and wishing to build a magnificent
temple to this god, he sent and demanded assistance in
the shape of men and materials for his work from the
Egyptian prince called Sekenen Ra. The prince called
a council, and determined to refuse to comply with this
demand ; but although Sekenen Ra began the rebellion
against the usurpers of the throne of Egypt, he appears
never to have attained the throne himself, for the next
monarch of all Egypt was called Ahmes, i.e., ‘ the child
of the Moon,’ who was descended from the kings of
the seventeenth dynasty ; the official position which he
held under Sekenen Ra was ‘chief of the sailors’ in a
vessel called the ‘ Calf’ He distinguished himself by
his valour in a number of victorious battles at Avaris
and the fortress of Sharuhen, by which the power of the
‘ Shepherd Kings ’ was utterly broken ; and at length,
having reconquered the land of Egypt, this mighty
soldier took up the reins of government and became
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 69
king. Under his firm but mild rule the temples, which
had been sadly neglected, were repaired, a temple
dedicated to Ptah at Memphis, and another to Amen-
Ra at Thebes.
Ahmes reigned twenty-two years, and married Ahmes-
Nefertari, a negress, who appears to have ruled for some
time after her husband’s death. Their son Amenhotep
ruled eleven years. Following this monarch came
Thothmes I., who made expeditions into Mesopotamia,
attacked the Syrians, and among other buildings erected
two granite obelisks before the temple of Amen-Ra at
Thebes. He was succeeded by his daughter, queen
Hatasu, who in compliance with public opinion
associated her brother Thothmes II. with her in the
kingdom. Thothmes II. ruled apparently for a short time
only, and it is hard to say whether he was murdered,
or whether he died in peace. After his death the queen
became sole ruler, put on the dress of a man, and gave
orders to have the name of her brother Thothmes II.
erased from the monuments. During her reign an
expedition was undertaken to the land of Punt, or the
spice country ; and spices, gold, ivory, precious stones,
and all other products of this wonderful — and to the
Egyptians new — land were brought home. Some trees
were brought home so large that it took six men to
carry each of them. This queen also ordered two
magnificent monolith granite obelisks with shining
metal tops to be made, which should stand before
the gate of Thothmes I., and record her works for ever.
70
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Later on in her reign she associated another brother,
Thothmes III., with herself in the kingdom, but the
same fate befell her as befell her brother Thothmes II. ;
for wherever on the monuments she appears co-regent
with Thothmes III., her name has been carefully
chiselled out and destroyed.
Bust of Thothmes HI.
After the death of Hatasu, Thothmes III.
became sole ruler of Egypt. By his success in mighty
wars, and by the enormous quantity of tribute with
which he enriched the Egyptian nation, as well as by his
numerous and beautiful buildings in Thebes, Memphis,
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 7 1
and Heliopolis, he deserves in all respects the name of
‘great’ among the Egyptian kings. He marched into
Mesopotamia as far as Nineveh, and wherever he went
the nations hastened to submit to him, and to pay
tribute; the few that would not do this, but preferred
to do battle with him, were ignominiously defeated.
Ethiopia, Syria, and Phoenicia were among the principal
countries that paid immense tribute ; and the record of
the wars of this monarch, and the enumeration of the
different amounts of tribute received, are sufficient to form
a large decoration for the sandstone wall which surrounds
the temple at Thebes, which he built. Among the lists
of the peoples conquered by Thothmes HI. occurs the
name Apeni, which some have considered to represent
the Hebrews. The reader will be familiar with the name
of Thothmes HI., for it was this king who had made,
and inscribed with his own name, the obelisk which is
commonly known as ‘ Cleopatra’s Needle,’ which now
stands on the Thames Embankment.^ Thothmes reigned
fifty-four years, and was succeeded by Amenhotep 1 1.,
who after a short reign made way for Thothmes IV., the
king mentioned on the tablet between the forepaws of
the Sphinx. A useful piece of work done by him was to
remove the sand which almost buried this mighty figure
and prevented people from fully appreciating its size.
Following Thothmes IV. comes Amenhotep HI., in
whose reign architecture and sculpture arrived at a
high pitch of perfection. He was a great warrior, and
' See ‘ Cleopatra’s Needle,’ By-paths of Bible Knowledge, No. i.
72
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
the sculptures represent him receiving tribute of all
sorts from the people of Mesopotamia and Ethiopia.
In the former land he says that he killed two hundred
and ten lions with his own hand. He is renowned
also for the famous statues of Memnon, about 68 feet
high, which he erected before the palace of Luxor ;
one of these was broken by an earthquake a few years
before our era, and was afterwards repaired by the
Emperor Severus about 190 A.D. Before this accident
it was alleged that the figure sang when the rays of the
sun fell upon it at dawn. Amenhotep III. was a devout
worshipper of the god Amen, and during his reign he
built a large number of temples to this god and to
others. Amenhotep III. made his son, Amenhotep
IV., king during his own reign. He is famous as
having been the introducer of the worship of the sun’s
disk. According to the Egyptian priests, he was an
unbeliever of the rankest type, for the most popular
worship at that time was that of the god Amen. He
seemed to have taken such a dislike to this god, that he
changed his name from Amen-hotep to Klm-en-aten,
i.e., ‘the glory of the disk and not content with this, he
gave orders to have the name Amen erased from all the
sculptures, and he determined to remove from the
capital city and found a new one for himself, where he
could erect temples to his favourite deity. In this place,
which is known to-day by the name of Tel-el-Amarna,
he built a magnificent temple in honour of the sun’s
disk, not far from the Nile on the eastern side. The
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC. 73
next important kings of this dynasty were called Ai and
Har-em-hebi : but we pass on at once to the important
nineteenth dynasty.
h'rom the monuments we learn very little about
Rameses, the first of that name, and the founder of the
nineteenth dynasty (about 1400 B.C.). From later sources
he is known to have joined battle with Saprer the king
of the Khita or Hittites, but of this we shall speak
further on ; his battles with the Khita and other nations
were continued by his son Seti I. Seti took up arms
against the Asiatics, and made war with the Shasu or
Arabs, the Libyans and the Ethiopians : in the sculptures
we see him not only directing the battle, but at
times fighting hand to hand in mortal combat. The names
of the towns and fortresses were abolished by him, and
new Egyptian names given in their stead ; new fortresses
were built where necessary, and great pains were taken
to systematically reduce the countries around to the rule
of the king. Among the names of the places to which
he went are many which are met with in the Bible,
such as Canaan, Migdol, and Kadesh. He built the
Memnonium, a small temple to Sekhet at Beni-Hassan,
a well in the desert, and set up in Heliopolis an obelisk,
which is now in Rome, as well as many other great
works. He reigned fifty-one years, and the visitor to
Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Eields may
there see his beautiful marble sarcophagus.
If Seti 1. made Egypt great at home and abroad, it
was only a fitting preparation of the country for the long
74
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
and brilliant reign of his successor
Rameses II. Under his rule the wars were carried out on
a larger scale than had ever before been contemplated ;
countries where the Egyptians had never been seen,
learned to know them by the soldiers of Rameses ; and
at home the arts and sciences advanced with such mag-
nificent strides, that the civilised nations of to-day have
not yet ceased to wonder at the ingenuity and skill which
performed such wonderful deeds and works. Josiah
the king of Judah began to reign at the age of eight
years,^ and it is probable that Rameses the Great was
at an equally early age associated with his father in the
rule of the kingdom : only four or five years after this
association he was already a man of war, having led an
expedition against the enemies of Egypt and beaten
them ; but, as we shall see soon, the youthful king had
the utmost need of all his power and bravery to keep
in check the immense number of nations which had
been rendered tributary to Egypt.
The first war in which the young prince took part
was that against the Ethiopians ; and in the fifth year
of his reign the brave rebellion of the Khita or Hittites
took place, which ended in the Khita being reckoned a
nation of almost equal importance with the Egyptians.
This war and its incidents have formed the subject of
the prize poem of a scribe called Pentaur, and although
Rameses II. did not come out of this fight with such
* 2 Kings xxii. i.
Raineses II. in Battle.
THE LAMB OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC.
77
glory as he wished, yet the words of this song describing
the bravery and deeds of the king in the highest
terms of praise, were inscribed upon the walls of the
temples at Abydos, and copies of it were made upon
papyrus, to be handed down to future generations.
Rameses II. was obliged to make a treaty with the
Khita,^ a copy of which, mutilated in some parts, is still
extant.
Mr. Lushington’s translation of the poems of Pentaur
on the war will be found in the chapter on Egyptian
literature, p. lOO.
Not only in writing was this battle of Rameses II.
celebrated, but the best artists of the day were employed
to depict its various incidents at Abu-Simbel, Beit
Oually, and elsewhere. At Kadesh on the Orontes a
very fierce battle took place, and both sides fought with
the greatest courage. The chariots of the Khita and
their allies are depicted as having been overturned into
the river. This battle cost them a number of very
important lives : for the brother of the king of the
Khita, the charioteer of the king, the chief general of
the army, and the leader of the cavalry were all killed.
One of the pictures shows the king of Khilibu or
Khiribu, an ally of the Khita king, being rescued by
his own men from drowning in the river. From the
' A translation of this document was first made by Rosellini in 1839 ;
another by Be Rouge in 1866 ; and a third by Goodwin in 1862. English
versions are given in Brugsch’s ‘Egypt under the Pharaohs,’ vol. ii., p. 68 ;
and in Prof. Sayce’s ‘Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments,’ pp.191-197.
78
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
description of the battle vve learn that Rameses advanced
too far into the thick of the fight, and so found himself
surrounded on all sides. In this difficulty and dire
necessity the king prayed to Amen, who appearing to
him, encouraged him with words, and taking him by the
hand, led him to victory over the foe. So ended this
great war ; but whether Egypt gained much more than
glory by it, is difficult to say. The treaty between
Egypt and the Khita was, however, in later days firmly
cemented by Rameses marrying, in his thirty-fourth
year, the daughter of the king of the Khita, who took
the Egyptian name of Ur-ma-neferu-Ra.
After the battle with the Khita Rameses in a series
of wars reduced the Canaanites, the Amorites, the
people of Syria, and others. He was a mighty builder,
and erected temples to the principal gods of Egypt at
Memphis, Thebes, and Abydos : he completed the
great wall from Heliopolis to Pelusium, which his father
Seti I. had begun to build, in order to keep out the
never quiet Asiatics, who for ever desired to make
inroads on the land of Egypt. It was on this wall that
the ‘ treasure cities ’ of Pithom and Raamses,^ which the
children of Israel built, are supposed by some to have
been placed ; but other scholars have placed Pithom
elsewhere, and identified the Hebrew Succoth with a
district of Egypt called TJuikii. In the latter part of his
reign Rameses II. erased his father’s name from the
monuments, inserting his own in its place : the reader
* Ex. i. II.
THE LAND OF EGYPT, ITS PEOPLE, ETC.
79
will remember that this king caused his name to be
inscribed on two of the faces of ‘Cleopatra’s Needle,’
while the other two bear the name of the king Thothmes
III. who erected it. Rameses II. reigned sixty-seven
years ; as co-regent with his father Seti I. for more than
one-half of the time, and the remainder of the period as
sole monarch. The monuments inform us that he had
several wives, and one hundred and sixty-two children,
of whom one hundred and eleven were sons. He was
succeeded by his thirteenth son, called Mer-en-Ptah,
or Meneptah, who is remarkable for neither wars nor
buildings, but who calls for our attention as being in all
probability the ‘ Pharaoh ’ of the Exodus.
8o
CHAPTER IV.
Illustrations of the Pentateuch and Bible
PASSAGES FROM THE EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
The first of the Hebrew patriarchs who had intimate
dealings with the Egyptians was the Chaldean Abraham.
From his eastern home he wandered towards the West,
and under the guidance of El-Shaddai the already aged
man directed his journey to Canaan. During his journey
through this land his God appeared to him,^ and declared
the promise that his seed should be its possessors. Now
Abraham journeyed on towards the south.^ Centuries
must have elapsed since Egypt had become a settled
monarchy with absolute monarchs, and a regular system
of rule prevailed over the land. The care with which the
Nile inundation was watched, how its waters were used
for the irrigation of the country, the fertility of the land,
its immense resources and its riches ; the report of all
these things would become the common property of the
nations around, and hence the stranger Abraham journey-
ing through Canaan would hear that even though there
was a scarcity of food in Canaan, there was a certainty of
food in Egypt. So towards Egypt he bent his steps,
’ Gen. xii. 7. ^ Gen. xii. 9.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 8 1
meaning to remain there for a time.* But the patriarch
dreaded lest his wife should be taken from him, and lest
himself should be slain.^ The possibility of such a thing
being done has made some argue that the manners of
the Egyptians must have been savage and barbaric.
In the inscriptions, however, we meet two facts which
bear upon this point ; the first is recorded in the ‘Tale
of Two Brothers,’ where we are told that a king of
Egypt sent two armies to bring a beautiful woman to
him, and to murder her husband ; and the second is a
statement in a papyrus pointed out by M. Chabas, which
states that the wife and children of a foreigner are by
right the lawful property of the king. The kindness of
the Pharaoh of Abraham is too well known to need any
mention, and after receiving rich presents the patriarch
went up out of Egypt.
It has been very generally supposed that Abraham’s
visit to Egypt took place under the reign of one of the
kings of the twelfth dynasty, but which king has not yet
been satisfactorily made out. Egypt, like every country
where the supply of water is irregular, was exceedingly
liable to terrible famines, and history tells us that it
was Amenemha III. who was the first king that
appreciated the full danger of this calamity, for he gave
all his attention to building the huge reservoir called
Lake Moeris in the Eayoum. Connected with this lake
was a series of locks, dykes, and channels, by which
the whole land might receive a regulated supply
' Gen. xii. lo. ^ Gen. xii. \z.
F
82
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
of water. Even modern engineers have admired the
remains of this construction, and it has been said that
the Egypt of to-day would be a great gainer if the work
could be restored, and a new lake made. Hence some
Biblical critics have considered that Amenemha III.
was king of Egypt when Abraham came there, and
others that Usertsen I. was king, and that Amenemha
was the Pharaoh of 'the time of Joseph ; but in any case
the fact that Abraham came there about that time is
generally accepted.
The next and most important of all the relations
which ever existed between the Jews and Egyptians,
was that begun by the arrival of Jacob’s darling child
in Egypt. Sold by his brethren to a company of Ish-
maelites for twenty pieces of silver,^ he was in turn sold
by them in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s,
and the captain of the guard or executioners. Here the
youthful and handsome Hebrew showed his devotion to
his master, and eventually became so trusted that he
was set over all his house. The ne.xt part of his history
is illustrated by an extract from the D’Orbiney Papyrus
in the British Museum, containing the Story of the Two
Brothers.^ The papyrus was written by the scribe
Enna, and was originally in the possession of Seti 1 1.,
a king of the nineteenth dynasty, so that it is as old as
the stay of the Jews in Egypt. A paraphrase of the
whole story is given in the chapter on Egyptian litera-
ture, p. 1 1 5.
' Gen. xxxvii. 28. ^ See ‘ Records of the Past,’ ii. p 137.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 83
When Potiphar had heard his wife’s story, Joseph was
cast into prison, where again he held a superior position,
and where he interpreted the dreams of the butler and
baker, the former of whom was pardoned on the king’s
birthday. Later he is called upon to interpret the
dreams of Pharaoh. In all these narratives we find
passages in which the testimony of the Bible and of the
monumente ,go hand in hand. Cups such as the king
would have taken his wine from are portrayed ; baskets
such as the baker would have carried his ‘ bakemeats ’
in are used .even unto this day, and may be seen in the
British Museum. We know from the Rosetta Stone
(line forty-six of the Greek text) that as late as that
period (195 B.C.) it was customary to make great
rejoicings on the king’s birthday,^ to consider it holy,
and to do no work on it, and that the Pharaoh would
pardon his butler as an act of grace is more than
probable.
In the seven cows which Pharaoh saw feeding in the
meadow. Dr. Birch has seen a reference to the seven cows
of Athor, pictured in the vignette of the one hundred
and forty-eighth chapter of the Book of the Dead ; and
the Hebrew Bible has preserved the Egyptian word for
‘ reed grass ’ in the word which has been translated
‘ meadow.’
During the period of Pharaoh’s anxiety to have his
dreams interpreted, the butler remembered his former
prison companion, Joseph, and made mention of him to
* Wilkinson, ‘ Ancient Egyptians,’ iii. p. 330.
F 2
84
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
his lord. Before Joseph entered the presence he shaved,
and changed his raiment.' Here again the monuments
and profane history offer us illustrations. The Egyptians
only allowed their hair to grow during the times of
mourning, and to neglect the hair was considered very
slovenly and dirty ; when a man of low station had
to be represented, the artist always drew him with a
beard. The artists carried this so far, that Rameses
kb.
VII., who was negligent about his dress, is portrayed on
his tomb at Thebes with the addition of a stubbly
beard of some few days’ growth. The heads of the
Egyptians were shaved, only locks being left here and
there, and the priests shaved the whole body every three
days, while the Jews and other foreign nations delighted
in long beards. The British Museum possesses Egyptian
razors, and in a tomb at Beni-Hassan the act of shaving
’ Gen. xli. 14.
ILI.USTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 85
is actually represented. The razors are of various
shapes, and were carried about in a bag from place to
place. The scribe who wrote the hymn in praise of
learning has contrasted the hard work of the barber with
that of the scribe. The scribe holds places of honour;
from his youth he is a counsellor, and is sent on royal
commissions ; but
The barber is shaving till evening.
When he places himself to eat he places himself on his
elbows.
He places himself at street after street
to seek after shaving.
He wearies his hands to fill his belly,
as bees feed by their labour.'
When Pharaoh had told his dream, and had heard
its interpretation, he determined to accept the advice
given by Joseph, and straightway appointed him lord
over all Egypt, second only to the king, at the same
time giving him rich and valuable presents. He first
gave him a ring, the supreme emblem of the king’s
authority, which by that gift was transferred to Joseph ;
he next arrayed him in fine linen, for which Egypt was
so celebrated, and which was the material of which the
dress of the Egyptian priests was made ; and putting a
chain of gold about his neck, he made him ride through
the land as ruler, while all the people shouted before
him words of praise. The gift of a chain or collar of
* Dr. Birch, ‘ Records of the Past,’ viii. p. 148.
86
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
gold to a high officer was apparently a custom with the
kings of Egypt. When Ahmes, the chief of the sailors,
and afterwards king of Egypt, cut off the head of a dead
enemy at Avaris and brought it to the king, a collar of
gold was given to him as a reward ; and after another
battle, in which he had shown the same prowess, he
received another chain or collar from the hands of the
grateful king. The word or words which the Egyptians
cried out before Joseph offer much difficulty of
explanation ; some have said that they should be trans-
lated ‘ Bow the head,’ and others think it means ‘ Rejoice ; ’
but so far its real meaning is a mystery, though, should
the word be Hebrew, the rendering ‘Bow the knee’ is
probably good. Besides all, this. Pharaoh gave Joseph
an Egyptian name, and he married Asenath, the
daughter of a priest of On. The name of his former
master, Potiphar, appears to be a perfectly good Egyptian
name, and Egyptologists have pointed out that its
probable equivalent in hieroglyphics is : —
□ D ® ^ i.e., ‘ devoted to the Sun-god.’
Pa-ta-pa-Ra
So likewise has Joseph’s new name Zaphnath-paaneah
been shown by Mr. Le Page Renouf and others to be
/VvWSA
t'eft-ent-pa-an;^
i.e., ‘ Storehouse of the house
of Life.’^
* Brugsch makes it, ‘Governor of the district of the place of Life.’
‘ Egypt under the Pharaohs,’ ii. p. 265.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 8/
The name of his wife, Asenath, is said to mean ‘ devoted
to Neit,’ while the city On is the Annu, || ^ or
Heliopolis of the Egyptians. The gift of a new name
to Joseph reminds us of Daniel being called Belte-
shazzar by Nebuchadnezzar, and the new names of
Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael ; while a parallel case
of a foreigner being raised to so high a position in
Egypt is given by the papyrus relating to the story of
Saneha. The subsequent history of Joseph, his divining
cup, his giving his brethren changes of garments, the
land of Goshen being set apart for his father and
brethren, because the shepherd was an abomination
to the Egyptians, and the embalming of his father,
exhibit in a striking manner the rigid accuracy of the
Bible in its many references to Egyptian habits and
customs.
Joseph would, of course, be held in the highest honour
by the Pharaoh and his successors for the wonderful
policy by which he ‘ bought all the land of Egypt for
Pharaoh and he proved beyond all doubt that it was
possible for the crops of the years of plenty to be stored
up, so that the inhabitants of the land should not perish
in the years of drought or scarcity. So when we
read that the people said to Joseph, ‘Thou hast saved ^
our lives,’* we must understand that it was not said with
the lips only and without meaning ; but that it was the
truth, and represented the heartfelt and grateful thanks
' Gen. xlvii. 25.
88
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
of a native to the man who was, as his Egyptian name
signified, ‘ the storehouse of the house of Life.’
After the days had multiplied, and the good and
great things which Joseph had done for Egypt had been
forgotten by the ruling dynasty, ‘ there arose up a new
king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.’' It is
generally accepted now that Joseph was sold into Egypt
at the time when the Hyksos were in power ; and
it is also generally accepted that the Exodus took
place after the death of Rameses II., and under the
reign of Merenptah or Meneptah. Now the children of
Israel were in captivity in Egypt for four hundred,^ or
four hundred and thirty years and as they went out of
Egypt after the death of Rameses II., it was probably
some time about the year 1350 B.c.
There is little doubt that the Pharaoh who persecuted
the Israelites so shamefully was Rameses II.; though
there are some who say that it was Ahmes or Amasis I,
The Pharaoh first set tlie Israelites hard and difficult
burdens, and then appointed overseers to look after them
and see that they did their work. Both tradition and the
monuments prove and supplement this statement ; for
Diodorus'* tells us that Rameses II. or Sesostris put up
an inscription in each of his buildings saying that it had
been erected by captives, and that not a single native
Egyptian was employed on the work. Again, this king
set up a brick factory, or field as we should say, and by
‘ Ex i. 8. Gen. xv. 13.
^ Ex. xii. 40. ^ i. 56 ; Herod, ii. lo8.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 89
employing the labour of captives and others was enabled
to sell his bricks at a lower price than any other maker.’
Rameses II., like Nebuchadnezzar and the other kings of
Babylon, had a stamp made, and his
bricks were impres.sed with it.^ They
were made with or without straw, and
it was a common custom not to burn
the bricks, but to dry them in the
sun ; for in that dry country, where
rain seldom comes, the sun-dried
brick was just as useful for the pur-
pose of building as the baked. The
Jews appear to have lived upon their
own land, and some members of each
family no doubt tilled it, that the
others might have food. They were not the only nations
so employed, for the monuments show us people who
are certainly not Jews making bricks and performing
other servile work. They worked in detachments,
each superintended by a taskmaster, and they were
compelled to make so many bricks per day.* When
Pharaoh wished to increase their labour, he ordered
them to use stubble instead of straw, and so the already
overtasked labourers were obliged to go into the fields
where the reapers had been, and to cut off the stalks
BRICK STAMP OF
RAMESES 11.
* Wilkinson, ‘ Ancient Egyptians,’ i. p. 343.
^ Sun-dried bricks of Raineses IL, Thothmes HI., &c., may be seen in
the British Museum (first Egyptian Room) ; as also a piece of burnt brick
ol Thothmes HI.
* Ex. V. 13.
90
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
that remained, to chop them small, and then to mix
them with the mud. Whatever the Pharaoh ordered
had to be done. Dr. Birch mentions the endorsement of
a papyrus referring to twelve brick-makers employed to
build a house, where it is said, ‘ Let there be no relaxation
that they should make their number of bricks daily in
the new house in the same manner, to obey the messages
sent by my lord.’ So then, together with slaves of
other nations, the Jews were forced to build for their
oppressor the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses.^
The town Raamses was called after the name of its
builder Rameses II. ; and the remains of a town called
Pithom — whose name means the ‘Temple of Tmu’ —
have been found by M. Naville at a place which the
monuments there call Thiikii or Thuknt, and which is
said to be the Succoth of the Old Testament. There
are difficulties in the way of accepting this theory, but
their discussion here would be tedious to the non-expert,
and quite out of place.
’ We have in a papyrus a description of the happy town of Raamses
contained in a poem, the concluding lines of which run : —
There is a supply of provisions there daily.
Gladness dwells within it.
None speak scorn of it.
There are sweet drinks in Aa-nechtu ;
its liquors are like sugar,
its syrups like the taste of
caroobs surpassing honey.
Joy remains there prolonged, unceasing.
Kameses, the war-god of the world, is its god
Egyptian Brickmakers and Brickmaking.
Man waiting to be laden. 3, 6. Taskmasters. 4, 5. Men carrying bricks. 8, 14. Stacking the moulded bricks. 9. Digging the clay
10. Man laden with prepared clay. 11. Mixing the clay. 15. lank for water
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 93
In addition to the cruelty already exercised toward
the children of Israel, the Pharaoh next gave orders to
throw all the new-born male children into the river
Nile: though, in spite of all the watchfulness employed
in this matter, the child Moses was saved by being put
in an ark of bulrushes, and laid among the reeds of the
river. This ark was made of the papyrus plant, and it
has been pointed out that the mother made the ark of
this substance because it was imagined by the Egyptians
to be a preservative against the attacks of crocodiles and
other noxious beasts. When Pharaoh’s daughter found
the child, she decided to adopt it and bring it up ; and
there can be little doubt that the future of the Jewish
nation was much influenced by her act. As soon as he
was of a sufflcient age he would be sent to the Egyptian
schools ; there he would learn all that the most celebrated
and profound masters of the day could teach : and after
some years he would return, being skilled in writing and
mathematics, and learned in all matters relating to the
Egyptian religion, including its numerous branches of
legend, myth, and history. The manners and customs of
the best of the Egyptians would be familiar to him, as
well as the rules of government : and such learning was a
fitting help for his divine mission, as it enabled him to
fight Pharaoh with his own weapons, while it taught the
great deliverer of his race how to rule, and judge, and to
provide for the necessities of the people of Israel in
future days.
There is no direct mention of the Israelites on the
94
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
monuments or in the papyri, it is true, neither is there
any representation of their servitude ; but it will be seen
from what has been said above that the references and
allusions in the Bible to Egypt and the Egyptians are
perfectly accurate. The Amu, the representatives of the
Semitic race generally, are depicted as brick-makers,
and literally hewers of wood and drawers of water : hence
none need expect that every family or tribe of this
numerous and wide-spreading race would be portrayed
on the temples, or walls, or tombs. Also, there is no
mention of the plagues which came upon the oppressors ;
but the nations of antiquity were not given to chronicling
the mi.sfortunes that overtook them. The persecution
which Rameses II. began was continued with vigour by
Meri-en-Ptah or Meneptah[ ^ 8 ^
The bricks had to be made just the same, and the
appointed ‘ tale ’ brought at the end of the day. Relying
upon the long-sufferance and the captivity of the hosts
of Israel, he increased their burdens, and made their
lives so hard that their groans mounted up to the
throne of God. The edict of deliverance came, the
people went out in haste, but with riches, and the heart-
hardened Pharaoh and the chiefs of his host were
destroyed. The route of the Exodus has been a
subject of much discussion and much conjecture ; but it
will suffice to say that each of the theories hitherto laid
down offers many difficulties, and a mere enumeration
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 95
of them here would occupy much space, and give no
satisfactory result.
After Israel had gone forth out of Egypt, for some
two or three centuries there were no friendly relations
between the two nations until Solomon’s time, when we
are told that ‘Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king
of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her
into the city of David ; ’ ^ but meanwhile the twentieth
dynasty had enjoyed its rule, and made way for the
twenty-first dynasty, whose first king was called
Harhor or Herher, and was a priest of the god Amen.
The Egyptians again come in contact with Israel under
the reign of Sheshank, or Shishak, the first king of the
twenty-second dynasty. ‘ In the fifth year of King
Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem, because they had transgre.ssed against the
Lord, with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore
thousand horsemen : and the people were without
number that came with him out of Egypt ; the Lubims,
the Sukkiims and the Ethiopians. And he took the
fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to
Jerusalem.’^ A list of the towns captuted by Shishak
is given on a wall at Thebes ; and among them we find
Bethhoron, Ajalon, Megiddo, Edom, and ‘ Judah-melek,’
which Dr. Birch considers to be the royal city of Judah,
i.e., Jerusalem.®
By the time of the twenty-fifth dynasty Egypt had
* I Kings iii. I. "2 Chron xii. 2-4.
■'* ‘ History of Egypt,’ p. 157.
96
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
become divided into a number of small principalities,
which the Ethiopian prince Pi-ankhi ruled over at
Noph.* During the latter years of his reign, a rebellion
of the native princes, headed by Nimrod the prince of
llcrmopolis, the chief of Menouthes, and others, broke
out ; but the Ethiopian prince assembled his forces,
and having beaten the rebels in a series of successful
battles, he became lord of all Egypt. Concerning
Tirhakah,^ a successor of Pi-ankhi, we derive very
important information from the Assyrian inscriptions.
Tirhakah had been defeated by Esarhaddon, who had
divided the country of Egypt into a number of districts,
generally under Egyptian governors ; some of the rulers
were, however, Assyrian, and a few of the Egyptian
towns were re-named with Assyrian names. Tirhakah
had incited the king of Tyre to rebel against the Assyrian
authority, and hence he brought down upon himself
Esarhaddon’s attack, which resulted in his subjugation in
the twenty-third year of his reign. The Ethiopian
kings had offered help to the Jewish nation if they
would resist the Assyrians ; but Egypt's growing
weakness was well known, for Rab-shakeh, remembering
the successful attacks that Shalmaneser had made
against dependencies of Egypt, taunted Hezekiah with
the forlornness of any hope which was based upon
' Is. xix. 13 ; Jer. ii. 16; xlvi, 14, 19; Ezek. xxx. 13-16.
* The Tirhakah of 2 Kings xix. 9 ; Is. xxxvii. 9 ; and the
^ |-j^ hieroglyphs.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PENTATEUCH, ETC. 97
Egyptian assistance, and compared Egypt’s king to
‘a bruised reed.’^ ‘In the beginning of the reign of
Assurbanipal, Esarhaddon’s son, Tirhakah made another
attempt to become sole king of Egypt ; and having
collected a large army he entered Memphis and scattered
the Assyrian rulers. Assurbanipal marched promptly
against the rebel, and defeated him with great slaughter.
Tirhakah then fled to Napata, where he with others
made arrangements for another rebellion ; and he
succeeded so well that he conquered Upper Egypt, and
actually gained possession of Thebes. Assurbanipal
sent an army against him, and Tirhakah was compelled
to retire to Napata, where he died, and so the twenty-
fifth dynasty came to an end.
Two of the kings of the next dynasty are mentioned in
; the Bible, Pharaoh Necho and Pharaoh
; Hophra | 'O’J. The first met Josiah, king of Judah,
in battle at Megiddo, where Josiah was slain, and set
up Jehoiakim as king in the place of Josiah’s eldest son
Jehoahaz, the lawful heir. His power was, however,
broken by Nebuchadnezzar IT, king of Babylon, and
' we read that ‘the king of Egypt came not again any
more out of his land.’^ The second. Pharaoh Hophra,
! assisted Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, kings of Judah, to rebel
il against their lord, Nebuchadnezzar; but this was merely
' inviting the conquest of Egypt at the hands of the
1; Babylonian king, and a few years after the prophecies of
I * 2 Kings xviii. 21. ^ 2 Kings xxiv. 7.
G
98
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Ezekiel and Jeremiah regarding its destruction were
fulfilled. During the reign of Psammetichus I. the great
temples at Sais, Thebes, Memphis and elsewhere were
repaired. This king made use of the Greeks in the
battle-field, and after the wars gave them a settlement
near Bubastis.
There was one among the last kings who caused
the fast-fading light of Plgypt’s glory to flicker brightl)^
and this was Amasis II. After his death the country
was invaded by Cambyses the Persian, who became
king, and was the first of the Persian dynasty of
Egyptian kings. Their rule lasted for about one hundred
years ; and following them came a few Egyptian kings of
little importance ; their reigns were very short, and they
in their turn were succeeded by another Persian dynasty.
Eor some time past Egypt had ceased to be Egyptian ;
the various conquerors of the country had caused new
customs to spring up ; the use of the old system of
hieroglyphics had now practically died out ; the national
spirit was broken, and from this time forward Egypt
was a dependency and tributary to whatever king
arose and had power to seize it. The nation with a
history that numbered thousands of years, and the
country that had shed the light of civilization abroad
when those round about were steeped in barbarism and
ignorance, now sank into a darkness which obscured
and eventually swallowed up the glory and majesty of
the Pharaohs and their land.
99
CHAPTER V.
ICgvptian Literature.
A LARGE portion of the literature of P-gypt comes down
to us in the shape of historical inscriptions graven
upon pyramids, obelisks, walls of temples, and stelrc.
The sentences are sometimes short and abrupt ; but fre-
quently they have a kind of rhythm which is exceedingly
fine, and, owing to the parallelism of the members,
reminds us of many of the Psalms. If, however, vve were
obliged to depend upon stone sculptures for our idea of
the Egyptian literature, we should not have an adequate
idea of it at all. Though the early ‘ pyramid texts,’ with
their rubrics, reveal to us the inscriptions which were
fitting for funereal monuments, they give us no idea of
the wonderful fairy stories which we obtain from the
papyri. We have already stated that the hieratic
writing was the writing of the priests, and as the learning
of Egypt was locked up in the breasts of this caste, we
must look to their works to understand what the
literature of the Egyptians was. It must not be
imagined that the hieratic is the only sort of writing
found on papyrus ; on the contrary, we find many
papyrus copies of the Book of the Dead in hieroglyphs,
G 2
lOO
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
and about 700 B.C. in demotic also. Still, a very large
number of the most interesting compositions are found
on papyrus in hieratic, and we give a few specimens from
the best of them. The first is a translation of the very
celebrated prize poem by the scribe Pentaur, giving
a thrilling account of the battle of Rameses II. with the
Khita or Hittites. This prize poem was considered so
fine that it was inscribed upon the walls of temples, and
a large number of copies must have been made. A
papyrus which the British Museum possesses contains
a very complete copy of it. Professor Lushington’s
translation is as follows : —
The Poem of Pentaur on the Conquest of the Khiti
BY Rameses II. ^
Several days after that King Rameses was in the town
Rameses Miamon. Moving northward he reached the border
of Katesh ; then marched onw'ard like his father (Mentu,
towards) Hanruta. The first brigade of Ammon, ‘ that brings
victory of King Rameses ’ (accompanied him). He was nearing
the town ; then the vile chief of Cheta came ; he gathered
(forces) from the margin of the sea to the land of Cheta ; came
all the Naharina, the Airatu, the Masu, the Kashkash, the
Kairakamasha, the Leka, Katuatana, Katesh, Akarita,
Anaukasa, the whole Mashanata likewise, nor left he silver
or gold in his land, he stripped it of all his treasures (which)
he brought wnth him. The vile chief of Cheta, with many
allies accompanying him, lay ambushed to north-west of
(Katesh). Now King Rameses was all alone, no other wdth
' Prof. Lushington’s translation, in the ‘ Records of the Past,’ ii. p. 61.
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE,
lOI
Iiim, the brigade of Ammon marching after him ; the brigade
(of Ra?) at the dyke west of the town Shabutuna; the brigade
of Ptah in the centre, the brigade of Set on the border of the
land of Amairo. Then the vile Cheta chief made an (advance)
with men and horses numerous as sand ; they were three men
on a car, they had joined with every champion of Chetaland,
equipped with all war gear, in (countless numbers) ; they lay
in ambush hidden to north-west of the town Katesh ; then they
charged the brigade of Ra Harmachis in the centre, as they
were marching on, and were not prepared to fight. Foot and
horse of King Raineses gave way before them ; they then took
Katesh on the western bank of Hanruta ; this news was told to
the King ; then he rose as Mentu, he seized his arms for battle ;
he clutched his corslet like Bar in his hour ; the great horse
that bore him, ‘Victory in Thebes’ his name, from the stable
of Raineses Miamon, within the van. The King drew himself
up, he pierced the line of the foe, the vile Cheta ; he was all
alone, no other with him. When he advanced to survey
behind him, he found there encircled him 2,500 chariots
stopping his way out. Every champion of the vile Cheta and
abundant lands with him of Airatu, of Maasu, of Patasu, and
of Kashkash, of Iriuna, of Katuatana, of Chirabu, of Akarita,
Katesh, Leka, they were three men on a car ; they made (a
charge), there was no chief with me, no marshal, no captain
of archers, no officers ; fled were my troops and horse. I was
left alone of them to fight the foe. Then said King Raineses,
‘ What art thou, my father Ammon ? what father denies his
son ? For have I done aught without thee ? Have I not
stepped or stayed looking to thee, not transgressing the
decisions of thy mouth, nor passing far astray beyond thy
counsels ? Sovran Lord of Egypt, who makest to bow down
102
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
the peoples tl at withstand thee ; what are these Amu to thy
heart ? Ammon brings them low who know not God. Have
I not made thee monuments very many ? filled thy temple
with my spoils ? built thee a house for millions of years ? given
treasures to thy shrine ? dedicated to thee all lands, enriched
thy sacrifices ? I have slain to thee 30,000 bulls, with all wood
of sweet scent, good incense coming from my hand. The
making of thy court completed, I have built thee great towers
of stone above thy gate, grov'es everlasting. I brought thee
obelisks from Elephantine ; it is I who had eternal stones
carried, guiding for thee galleys on the sea, conveying to thee
the labours of all lands. When was it said such happened in
other time ? Shame on him who opposes thy counsels, well
be to him who approves thee, Ammon. What thou hast done
is from a heart of love ; I call on thee, my father Ammon.
I am amid multitudes unknown, nations gathered against me ;
I am alone, no other with me ; my foot and horse have left me.
I called aloud to them, none of them heard ; I cried to them,
I find Ammon worth more than millions of soldiers, 100,000
cavalry, 10,000 brothers and sons, were they gathered all in one.
No works of many men avail, Ammon against them. I attain
that by the counsels of thy mouth, O Ra, not overstepping thy
counsels. Lo, have I not done homage to the farthest ends of
the land?’ My cry rang unto Hermonthis ; Ra heard when ]
called, he put his hand to me, I was glad ; he called to me
behind ; ‘ . . . . Rameses Miamon, T am with thee,
I thy father Ra, my hand is with thee. I am worth to thee
100,000 joined in one; I am Sovran Lord of Victory, loving
valour ; iff find courage, my heart overflows with joy; all my
doing is fulfilled.’ I am as Mentu, I shoot to the right, I seize
on my left, like Bar in his fury against them; I find 2,500
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
103
chariots, I am amidst them, then were they overthrown before
my steeds ; not one of them found his hand to fight, their
hearts shrank within them ; their hands all dropped, they knew
not how to shoot, they found no heart to grasp the spear ; I
made them fall into the water as fall crocodiles, they tumbled
headlong one over another ; I slew them ; my pleasure was
that none of them should look behind him, nor any return ;
whoever falls of them he must not raise himself up. Then the
vile chief of Cheta stood amid his army to see the prowess of
King Raineses. The King was all alone, no soldiers with him,
no horse ; he turned in dread of the King. Then he made
his mighty men go in numbers, each one of them with cars,
they brought all war harness, the chief of Airatu, the chief of
Masu, the chief of Iriuna, the Leka, the chief of Tantani, the
Kashkash, the chief of Kairkamash, the Chirabu, the allies of
Cheta, all banded in one, 2,500 chariots. Charging the midst
of them fiercer than flame, I rushed upon them, I was as Mentu ;
I let my hand taste them in a moment’s space, I hew at them
to slay them in their seats ; each one of them called to his
fellow, saying, ‘ No mortal born is he whoso is among us. Set
the mighty of strength ; Bar in bodily form, verily whoever
comes close to him, his hand droops through all his frame, they
know not how to grasp bow nor spear when they have seen him.’
Coming to the junction of roads, the King pursued them as
a griffin. I was slaying them, none escaped me; I gave a call
to my foot and horse, saying, ‘ Be firm, be firm in heart, my
foot and horse ; behold my victory. I was alone. Turn (Ammon)
my support, his hand with me.’ Now when Menna my
Squire saw me thus encircled by many chariots, he cowered,
his heart quailed, great terror entered his limbs, he said to the
King, ‘ My gracious Lord, Prince revered, valiant exceed-
104
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
ingly, protector of Egypt in day of battle, verily we stand
alone amid the foe, how make a stand to save breath to our
mouth? how rescue us. King Rameses, my gracious Lord?’
The King said to his Squire, ‘ Courage, courage, my Squire, I
will pierce them as a hawk ; I will slay and hew them, cast
them to the dust. W’hat forsooth to thy heart are these Amu ?
Ammon brings very low them who know not God, who brightens
not his face on millions of them.’ King Rameses dashed into
the van, then he pierced the foe, the caitiff Cheta, six times,
one and all, he pierced them. I was as Bar in his season, pre-
vailing over them I slew them, none escaped. Then the King
called to his archers and cavalry, likewise to his chiefs who
failed to fight. ‘ Naught profits full heart in you. Is there one
of them who did his duty in my land? Had I not stood as
Royal Master, ye were downstricken. I make Princes of you
always. I set son in his father’s estate : if any evil comes on
Egypt, ye quit your service .... Whoever comes to make
petitions I always pay regard to his claims. Never any Royal
Master did for his soldiers what King Rameses has done for
you, I let you sit in your houses and your towns ; ye have not
performed my bests, my archers and cavalry. I have given
them a road to their cities, Lo, ye have played
cowards all together, not one of you stood to aid me while I had
to fight. Blessed be Ammon Turn, lo, I am over Egypt as my
father Ra ; there was not one of them to observe my commands
in the land of Egypt. O noble feat ! for consecrating images
in Thebes, Ammon’s city : great shame on that act of my foot
and horse, greater than to tell, for lo, I achieve my victories ;
there was no soldier with me, no horseman ; every land beholds
the path of my victories and might. I was all alone, no other
with me, no chiefs behind, no marshals, no captains of the
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
105
army, no officers, all peoples saw and will tell my name to limits
of lands unknown. If any warriors, relics of my hand, remain,
they will turn at seeing me ; if 10,000 of them come upon me,
their feet will not stand firm, they will fly ; whoever would shoot
straight at me, down dropped their arrows, even as they ap-
proached me. Now when my foot and horse saw, I was
addressed as Mentu, the strong sword of Ra, my father, who
was with me in time of need, he made all peoples as straw
before my horses. They were marching one after another to
the camp at eventide ; they found all the tribes through whom
I pierced strewn in carnage, whelmed amid their blood, with
all brave fighters of Cheta-land, with children and brothers of
their chief. Morning lighted the field of Katesh ; no space
was found to tread on for their multitude. Then my soldiers
came glorifying our names to see what was done, my cavalry
likewise, extolling my prowess. ‘What a goodly deed of
valour ! firm in heart, thou hast saved thy army, thy cavalry,
son of Turn, framed by his arms, spoiling Cheta-land by thy
victorious sword. Royal Conqueror, none is like thee. King
fighting for his host on day of battle, thou great of heart,
first in the fray, thou reckest not for all peoples banded
together, thou great conqueror before thy army, in the face
of the whole land. No gainsaying. Thou guardest Egypt,
chastisest lands of thy foes, thou bruisest back of Cheta for
ever.’ Then the King addressed his foot and horse, likewise
his chiefs who failed to fight : ‘Not well done of one of you,
your leaving me alone amid the foe ; there came no chiefs,
officer or captain of host to aid me. I fought repelling millions
of tribes all alone. “ Victory in Thebes” and “ Nehrahruta” (my
horses) they are all I found to succour me. I was all alone in
the midst of foes. I will let them eat corn before Ra daily.
I06 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
when I am in my royal palace : these are they found in the
midst of the foe, and my Marshal Menna my Squire, with the
officers of my household who were near me, the witnesses of
conflict who saw them fall before the King; with victorious
Hrength he felled 100,000 all at once, by his sword of might.’
At dawn he joined in fray of battle ; he went terrible to fight,
as a bull terrible with pointed horns he rose against them as
Mentu ordering the fray, alike valiant in entering battle, fighting
fierce as a hawk, overthrowing them as Sechet who sends flames
of fire in the face of thy foes; as Ra in his rising at the front
of dawn, shooting flames upon the wicked ; one man amongst
them calls to his fellow, ‘ Mark, take heed, verily Sechet the
mighty is with him ; she guides his horses : her hand is with
him.’ AVlioever approaches sinks to ruin; she sends fire to
burn their limbs, they were brought to kiss the dust. King
Rameses prevailed over them, he slew them, they escaped not,
they were overthrown under his steeds, they were strewn
huddled in their gore. Then the vile Cheta Prince sent to do
homage to the great name of King Rameses. ‘ Thou art Ra
Harmachis, thou art Set mighty of strength, son of Nut, Bar
himself ; thy terror is over Cheta-land brought low : thou hast
broken back of Cheta for ever and ever.’ Then came a herald
bearing a scroll in his hand to the great name of Rameses, ‘To
soothe the heart of the King, Horus, conquering Bull, dear to
Ma, Prince guarding thy army, valiant with the sword, bulwark
of his troops in day of battle. King mighty of strength, great
Sovran, Sun powerful in truth, approved of Ra, mighty in
victories, Rameses Miamon. The servant speaks to tell the
King, My gracious Lord, fair son of Ra Harmachis, truly thou
art born of Ammon, issue of his body, he gives thee all lands
together, land of Egypt and land of Cheta, they offer their
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
107
service beneath thy feet to thee, Ra, prevailing over them.
Yea, thy spirit is mighty, thy strength weighs heavy on Cheta-
land ; is it good to kill thy servants ? thou exercisest thy might
upon them ; art thou not softened? thou earnest yesterday and
slewest 100,000 of them; thou art come to-day
victorious King, Spirit giad in battle, grant us breath of life.’
Then the King rose in life and strength, as Mentu in his season.
Then he bade summon all the leaders of foot and horse, his
army all assembled in one place to let them hear the message
sent by the great chief of Cheta to King Raineses. They
answered, saying to the King, ‘’Tis very good to let fall thy
wrath. Prince, Sovran Lord, who can soothe
thee in thy day of anger ? ’ Then King Raineses gave assent
to their words ; he gave his hand in peace, returning to the
South, passing in peace to Egypt with his chiefs, his foot and
horse, in life and strength, in sight of all lands. Dread of his
might is in every heart, he protects his army, all nations come
to the great name, falling down and adoring his noble
countenance. King Raineses reached fort Raineses Miainon
great image of Ra Harmachis reposing in the royal palace in
'Fhebes, as the sun’s orbs, on his two-fold throne ; Ammon
hailed his form, saying, ‘ Glory to thee, son loved of us,
Rameses Miainon (to whom we grant) festivities for ever on
the throne of thy father Turn. All lands are overthrown under
his feet ; he has quelled (all enemies).’ Written in the year 7,
month Payni, in the reign of King Rameses Miainon, giver of
life for ever and ever like his father Ra .... To the
Head Guardian of the royal writings by the
Royal Scribe Pentaur.
When the Egyptian wrote history, he related the
facts clearly and concisely, and with but few unnecessary
io8
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
additions ; these consist principally of the incessant
repetition of the names and titles of honour of the
Pharaohs.^ It seems probable that the Egyptians did
not write a compendium of the history of their nation,
for as each king proclaimed his own works and glories
upon his edifices and buildings, succeeding generations
could read the history of the times before upon them ;
yet they forgot that dynasties are overthrown and
monuments destroyed. If we had a complete native
history of Egypt, however brief, what a number of
unproven facts it would make certain !
It is evident that with a nation like the Egyptians,
possessing such a number of gods, a very large portion
of their works would turn upon religion and myths about
the gods, hymns to them, and the like. To the Nile, as
a god whose practical gifts would be apparent to all,
would the pious Egyptian poet address his devotions.
The two following extracts will show the reverence in
which it was held. The hieroglyphs surrounding the
pages are not part of the text of which the hymns are
translations, but are given simply as an illustration of
hieroglyphic text. They are taken from Maspero’s
‘La Pyramide du Roi Pepi P",’ lines 163 and 164.
* As a specimen of this, see the first few lines of the translation of the
Rosetta Stone on p. 22.
I lO
%
I.
Blessed be the good god,^
the Nun^-loving Nile,
the father of the gods of the holy Nine
dwelling on the waters,
the plenty, wealth, and food of Egypt.
He maketh everybody live by himself,
riches are on his path,
and plenteousness is in his fingers ;
the pious are rejoiced at his coining.
Thou art alone and self-created,
one knoweth not whence thou art.
But on the day thou comest forth and
openest thyself,
everybody is rejoicing.
Thou art a lord of many fish and gifts,
and thou bestowest plenteousness on Egypt.
The cycle of the holy Nine knoweth not
whence thou art,
thou art their life.
P’or when thou comest their offerings are
redoubled,
and their altars filled,
and they are shouting when thou appearest.
V
^ ^^VWNA
t P
□ □
1 ‘ Records of the Past,’ x. p. 37.
2 /.e., Heaven-loving.
3 Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Horus, Isis, Nephthys,
and Set.
F]
jI JL \
1 ; I
□
/wvw\
p
o
00
0
II.
He giveth light on his coming from dark-
ness
in the pastures of his cattle
his might produceth all ;
what was not, his moisture bringeth to life.
Men are clothed to fill his gardens :
he careth -for his labourers.
He maketh even and noontide,
he is the infinite Ptah and Kabes.
He createth all works therein,
All writing, all sacred words.
All his implements in the North.
The hymn is addressed to thee with the
harp ;
It is played wuth a (skilful) hand to thee !
The youths rejoice at thee !
Tliy own children.
Thou hast rewarded their labour.
There is a great one adorning the land ;
An enlightener, a buckler in front of men.
Quickening the heart in depression.
Loving the increase of all his cattle.
Mortals extol (him), and the cycle of gods !
Aw'e is felt by the terrible ones ;
1 ‘ Records of the Past,' iv. p. in.
/WvWX
/VVW\A
A
1 12 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
his son {i.e. Pharaoh) is made Lord of all, to enlighten all
Egypt.
Shine forth, shine forth, O Nile ! shine forth!
Giving life to his oxen by the pastures I
Shine forth in glory, O Nile.
But though the Nile was thus hymned and praised as
the giver of all good gifts and life to the Egyptians, the
highest and best praises were reserved for the great gods
of the Egyptian Pantheon. The sun-god Ra, as the
giver of light and warmth to the world, the nourisher of
crops and the dispeller of darkness, was a favourite
theme for the Egyptian poet, and in combination with
other gods the most beautiful hymns, full of noble
epithets, were written in his honour ; as for example : —
Hail to thee Ra, Lord of truth :
whose shrine is hidden. Lord of the gods :
Chepera {i.e., the Creator) in his boat :
at whose command the gods were made ;
Atum, maker of men ;
supporting their works, giving them life :
distinguishing the colour of one from another ;
listening to the poor who is in distress :
gentle of heart when one cries unto him.
Deliverer of the timid man from the violent :
judging the poor, the poor and the oppressed :
Lord of wisdom whose precepts are wise :
at whose pleasure the Nile overflows ;
Lord of mercy most loving :
* See ‘Transactions Soc. Bib. Arch.,’ ii. p. 250.
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
113
at whose coming men live :
opener of every eye :
proceeding from the firmament :
causer of pleasure and light :
at whose goodness the gods rejoice
their hearts revive when they see him.
***** ■*■
Hail to thee for all these things :
the One alone with many hands !
lying awake while all men lie (asleep)
Amen, sustainer of all things :
Atum, Horus of the horizon :
homage to thee in all their voices ;
salutation to thee for thy mercy unto us ;
protestations to thee who hast created us.
III.
Thou wakest beauteous Amen-Ra-Harmachis, thou watchest
in triumph, Amen-Ra, Lord of the horizon. O blessed one
beaming in splendour, towed by thy mariners who are of the
unresting gods, sped by thy mariners of the unmoving gods.
Thou comest forth, thou ascendest, thou towerest in beauty,
' thy barge divine careers wherein thou speedest, blest by thy
mother Nut each day, heaven embraces thee, thy foes fall as
thou turnest thy face to the West of heaven. Counted are thy
bones, collected thy limbs, living thy flesh, thy members
blossom, thy soul blossoms, glorified is thy august form,
ladvanced thy state on the road of darkness. Ra hath quelled
his impious foes, heaven rejoices, earth is in delight, gods and
goddesses are in festival to make adoration to Ra-Hor, as they
' * Compare Psalm cxxi. 4.
H
I 14 the dwellers on the NILE.
see him rise in his bark. He fells the wicked in his season, the
abode is inviolate, the diadem in its place, the urasus has
smitten the wicked.’*
Following close upon these religious hymns come the
magical texts, the knowledge of which enabled its
possessor to drive away a disease or devil. If medicine
was taken to cure the disease, then an incantation or
formula was said at the time of taking it, that the drug
might do its work swiftly and well ; and if a man was
under the power of one devil, the unfortunate prayed
to another and mightier devil, or a god, to protect him
from his power of injury. An extract from the transla-
tion of a magical text by Dr. Birch will give an idea of
this class of work ; — ^
There are four mansions of life, Osiris is master thereof.
The four houses are Isis, Nephthys, Seb, and Nu. Isis is placed
in one, Nephthys in another, Horus in one, Tahuti in another,
at the four angles ; Seb is above, Nu is below. The four outer
walls are of stone. It has two stories, its foundation is sand,
its exterior is jasper, one is placed to the south, another to the
north, another to the west, another to the east
Shu takes the shape of an eagle’s wing ; he makes a lock or
tress of sheep’s wool to go round this god’s neck ; it is placed
on the throat of Osiris. Shu says ; ‘ O thou shut in the solar
disk, hidden in thy house 1 O you enemies who retain the breath
far from him turn your faces. A lock of hair has been made
to suffocate your souls. I am Shu who destroys your bodies.’
' See full translation by Prof. Lushington, ‘ Records of the Past,’ viii.
p. 129.
■ ‘ Records f the Past,’|vi. p. 1 13
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
II5
The Egyptian appears to have been very devoted to
tales of the imagination ; for an instance we cannot do
better than paraphrase the Tale of the Two Brothers.^
There were two brothers, children of one mother and of
one father. Anpu was the name of the elder, Bata that of
the younger. Anpu had a house and a wife, and his younger
brother was like a son to him. He followed after the cattle, he
did the ploughing and all the labours of the fields. Behold
his younger brother was so good a labourer that there was not
Ills equal in the whole land. Now while the younger brother
was with the cattle every day in the fields, taking them home
each evening, and while he was in the stables, the elder
brother sat with his wife and ate and drank. And when the
day dawned, and before his brother rose from his bed, he took
bread to the fields and called the labourers to eat in the field.
The cattle told him where the best grasses were, and he under-
stood their language. And when it was the season for ploughing,
the elder brother said, ‘ Come, let us take our teams for plough-
ing, for the land has made its appearance ; go and fetch seed
for us from the village.’ And the younger brother found the
elder brother’s wife sitting at her toilet. And he said, ‘ Arise
and give me seed that I may go back to the field, because my
elder brother wishes me to return without delay.’ Then she
said, ‘ Go open the bin, and take thyself whatever thou wilt, my
hair would fall by the way.’ So the youth entered his stable ;
he took a large vessel, for he wished to take a great deal of seed,
and he loaded himself with grain and went out with it. And
she spoke to him saying, ‘ What strength is there in thee, indeed.
I observe thy vigour every day.’ She seized upon him and said,
‘ Renouf, ‘ Records of the Past,’ ii. p. 136.
II 2
Il6 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
to him, ‘ Come let us lie down for an instant’ The youth
became like a panther with fury on account of the shameful
discourse which she had addressed to him. He spoke to her,
saying, ‘ Verily I have looked upon thee in the light of a
mother, and thy husband in the light of a father to me. What
a great abomination is this which thou hast mentioned to me.
Do not repeat it again to me, and I will not speak of it to any
one ; verily I will not let any thing of it come forth from my
mouth to any man.’
Behold, the wife of his elder brother was alarmed at the
discourse which she had held. She made herself like one who
had suffered violence, for she wished to say to her husband,
‘ It is thy younger brother who has done me violence.’ Her
husband returned at evening and found his wife lying as if
murdered by a ruffian. And she said, ‘ No one has conversed
with me except thy younger brother ; when he came to fetch
seed for thee, he found me sitting alone, and said insulting
words to me. But I did not listen to him. Behold am I not
thy mother, and thy elder brother is he not like a father to thee ?
This is what I said to him, and he got alarmed, and did me
violence that I might not make a report to thee ; but if thou
lettest him live I shall kill myself.’ And the elder brother
became like a panther ; he made his dagger sharp, and took it
in his hand, and placed himself behind the door of the stable
to kill his younger brother on his return at evening to bring his
cattle to the stable.
When the sun was set, the younger brother loaded himself
with the herbs of the field and came home. And when the
first cow entered the stable she said to him, ‘Verily thy elder
brother is standing before thee with his dagger to slay thee.
Betake thyself from before him.’ The second beast spake
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE. II7
after the same manner, and when he looked he saw the two
feet of his elder brother who was standing behind the door ;
and placing his burden upon the ground he fled. In his flight
the young man prayed to the Sun-god, who straightway caused
the two brothers to be divided by a river full of crocodiles, and
each brother stood upon an opposite bank. At daybreak the
younger brother declared his innocence, and told his brother
the true story ; he then mutilated himself, and declared his
intention of going to the Cedar mountains. But before going
the younger tells the elder brother what will happen in the
following words : ‘ I shall take my heart, and place it in the
top of the flower of the Cedar, and when the Cedar is cut down
it will fall to the ground. Thou shalt come to seek it. If
thou art seven years in the search of it, let not thy heart be
depressed, and when thou hast found it thou shalt place it in
a cup of cold water. Oh ! then I shall live (once more), and
fling back a reply to an attack. And this thou shalt learn,
namely, that the things have happened to me. When thou
shalt take a jug of beer into thy hand and it turns to froth,
then delay not ; for to thee of a certainty is the issue coming to
pass.’ So the young man went to the Cedar mountain, and
the elder brother went home. Arrived there, he strews dust
upon his head, kills his wife and throws her to the dogs, and
then mourns for his brother. Meanwhile the younger brother
spent his time in hunting, and in building for himself a most
beautiful house. And it fell out one day that the company of
the gods met him, and one of them asked him why he stayed
there alone, seeing that his brother’s wife had been slain. Then
they pitied him, and the god Chnum made him a wife, a most
beautiful woman, in whom was the whole godhead ; but the
seven Hathors when they saw her declared with one voice that
Il8 THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
she would die a violent death. Then the days multiplied,
and they lived very happily together, and the young man said
to her before he went out hunting, ‘ Do not go out, lest the Sea
carry thee off, for my heart is on the top of the flower of the
Cedar, and if any one finds it I shall be overcome by him.’ So
the young man hunted as usual, and one day while he was
away the Sea saw her and chased her ; but she fled and
reached her house. And the Sea said to the Cedar, ‘ O that
I could seize upon her ! ’ And the Cedar carried off one of
her fragrant locks and carried it to Egypt, and deposited it
where the washers of the king were. Then the odour of this
lock diffused itself among the king’s clothes, and one day
when the chief of the washers was walking by the sea, he saw
the lock of hair, picked it up, and finding the odour exceedingly
delicious, he took it to the king. When the doctors and
magicians saw it they said, ‘This lock belongs to a daughter of
the Sun-god ; the essence of the whole godhead is in her. Send
envoys to every place to seek her, but send a number of troops
with the envoy who is to go to the Cedar mountain.’ This was
done, and after a time all the envoys returned ; but those who
had gone to the Cedar mountain returned not ; for the young
man Bata had slain them. Then the king sent more troops to
the Cedar mountain, who brought back Bata’s wife with them,
and she advised the king to cut down the Cedar, for then Bata
would be destroyed. So the Cedar was cut down, and Bata
fell dead.
The following day the elder brother Anpu went into his
house, and sat down to drink beer, but the beer in the jug
became froth ; and when he saw the fulfilment of his younger
brother’s prophecy he set out on a journey to the Cedar
mountain. When he came there he found his brother dead
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
119
upon the floor, and went out forthwith to look for hi.s brother’s
heart under the Cedar where he used to lie in the evening.
For three years he searched for the heart, and, quite dis-
heartened, he determined to go back to Egypt ; but going to
take a final look at the place, he found a pod, and under the
pod his brother’s heart. He took the heart and dropped it
into water, and the heart absorbed the water. When all the
water had been drunk up, Bata, the younger brother, became
alive, and the two brothers embraced each other. Bata said to
his brother, Anpu, ‘ I am going to become a great bull with all
the sacred marks ; do thou sit upon my back, and when the Sun
rises we shall be in the place where my wife is.’ On the
following day Bata became a bull, and he and his brother
arrived at the place where his wife was. Then the king made
a great festival and honoured the elder brother greatly. After
a while the bull entered the sanctuary and stood near the
princess, and said, ‘ Look upon me, I am alive indeed.’ The
Princess asked, ‘ Who art thou then ? ’ He answered, ‘ I am
Bata, I am a Bull.’ Then she was horribly afraid, and one
day when the king sat at meat with her she said, ‘ Come swear
to me by God that you will grant whatever I ask.’ The king
promised, and she asked to eat the liver of the Bull. Then
the king was sad, but all the same he gave orders to slay the bull.
As they were killing him, two drops of blood fell upon the
two door-posts ; and they grew up into two mighty Persea
trees, each of which stood alone. After some time the King
and the Princess went out to see the Persea trees, and as
the latter was sitting under one of them, it said, ‘ Ho ! thou
false one ! I am Bata, I am living still, I have transformed
myself.’ At this the Princess asked to have the Persea
trees cut doAvn; and the King gave orders to have this
120
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
done, while she looked on ; but a splinter fl.ew into her
mouth. And after a time it was told the King, ‘ There is born
to thee a male child.’ When the child grew up he was made
Prince of Ethiopia, and afterwards hereditary prince ; and when
the King died he summoned all the princes and nobles of
his majesty and narrated all that had happened to him. His
wife also was brought to him, and he had a reckoning with her
in presence of them, and they spoke their speech. Then he
appointed his elder brother Anpu to be hereditary prince, and
he himself became king. And when he had completed thirty
years of life, his elder brother arose in his place, on the day of
his death.
Such is the brief account of the Tale of the Two
Brothers. Another curious story is that of the Possessed
Princess of Bakhten.^ It appears that when Rameses XII.
was in Mesopotamia registering the annual tributes of
vassal princes, the chief of the land of Bakhten, in
laying his gifts at the feet of the monarch, placed his
eldest daughter first. This lady was very beautiful, and
as she delighted the heart of his Majesty beyond all
things, she was made chief royal wife, and called Ra-
neferu, or ‘ the glories of the Sun-god.’ One day after
the king had returned, and was in Thebes, there came
ambassadors from the country of Bakhten, who, together
with the chief of that land, brought presents for the
king’s wife, their former princess. When the chief
obtained an audience of his Majesty Rameses, he said,
‘ Glory, to thee, sun of the Nine bow barbarians, let us live
’ For full translation by Dr. Birch, see ‘ Records of the Past,’ iv. p. 53-
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
I2I
before thee.’ He tlien went on to tell the king that he
had come on account of Bent-Rash, the little sister of Ra-
neferu, the king’s wife, their former princess, for she had
become stricken with some evil movement in her limbs,
therefore would his Majesty send someone to heal her.
Rameses ordered all those learned in mysteries to
appear before him, and when they had come his choice
fell upon the royal scribe Tahuti-em-heb, who was
intelligent in heart and skilled with his fingers. This
learned man went to Bakhten, and when he had
examined the girl he found that she was under the
influence of evil spirits. He found the devils difficult to
contend with, and making a report to this effect he
wound up by asking that a god might be sent to
exorcise the demons. When the king received the
report he prostrated himself before the god Chonsu of
the double name in Thebes, and entreating his help,
prayed that the good god would consent to go to
Bakhten, to save the daughter of the prince of that land.
The god was gracious and expressed his readiness to go ;
then the king forthwith placed him in an ark, and the
god departed from the land. When he arrived in
Bakhten, the whole army, headed by the chief of the
land, made obeisance before him. The god then went
to the place where the child possessed of devils was, and
cured her immediately ; and the spirit which came out
from her spake to Chonsu, ‘ Thou, O great god, and
driver away of possessors, hast come in peace ; the land
of Bakhten is thy city; its men are thy slaves; I am thy
I 23
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
slave ; I will go to the place whence I came, to give
peace to thy heart on account of thy journey here,’
After this speech the god requested that the Prince of
Bakhten would offer sacrifice to the spirit that had come
forth from his daughter. When this was done the spirit
departed, as he had said. At this the Prince of Bakhten
was so pleased with the god Chonsu that he determined
to keep him there. The god stayed in Bakhten three
years and a few months ; but one night when the Prince
was lying on his couch he saw the god in the form of a
golden hawk come out of his shrine and fly away to the
land of Egypt. After this the Prince sent the ark of the
god away to Egypt with great and rich presents, troops
and many horsemen.
The literature of Egypt embraced all subjects, if we
may judge by what has come down to us : mathematics,
police reports — like that which relates the criminal
proceedings against some people who broke open and
robbed some of the tombs of the kings — moral sayings,
and many other subjects for which we have no room to
give specimens here. We reserve a notice of the Book
of the Dead for the ninth chapter, and will conclude our
series of extracts from Egyptian literature by two most
interesting poetical specimens. The first is from a very
old work on the praise of learning,' and the second is
the ‘ Song of the Harper.’^ This latter work is inscribed
upon a tomb at Abd-el-Gurnah, and the reader will see
* ‘ Records of the Past,’ viii. p. 147.
Ibid., vi. p. 127.
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
123
that many of the passages in it are somewhat similar in
meaning to verses in Ecclesiastes and other parts of the
Bible : —
I.
I have seen violence, I have seen violence, give thy heart after
letters.
I have seen one free from labours, consider there is not anything
beyond letters.
l .ove letters as thy mother, I make its beauty go in thy face,
it is a greater possession than all honours.
He who has commenced to avail himself is from his infancy a
counsellor.
He is sent to perform commissions.
He who does not go, is in sackcloth.
I have not seen a blacksmith on a commission, a founder who
goes on an embassy.
I have seen the blacksmith at his work at the mouth of the
furnace.
His fingers like things of crocodiles, he stinks worse than the
eggs of fishes.^
Every carpenter carrying tools, is he more at rest than the
labourers ?
His fields are of wood, his tools of metal ; at night when he is free
he does in addition work with his hands for the lighting of
his house.’*
' Compare, ‘The smith also sitting byEhe anvil, and considering the
ironwork, the vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with the
heat of the furnace ; the noise of the hammer and anvil is ever in his ears,
and his eyes look still upon the pattern of the thing that he maketh ; he
setteth his mind to finish his work, and watcheth to polish it perfectly ’
( Ecclesiasticus xxxviii. 28).
“ Compare Ecclesiasticus xxxviii. 27.
124
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
The poet then proceeds to describe the difficulties of
each trade, and finishes with : —
I tell you the fisherman suffers more than any employment.
Consider, is he not toiling on the river ? he is mixed up with
the crocodiles.
Should the clumps of papyrus diminish, then he is crying out
for help.
If he has not been told that a crocodile is (not) there,
'I'errors blind him.
Consider, there is not an employment destitute of superior
ones.
Except the scribe, who is the first. For he who knows letters,
he then is better than thee.
Should’st thou walk after great men, thou art to proceed with
good knowledge.
Do not say proud words. Be sealed in thyself alone.
II.
The Song of the Harper.
[Chanted by the singer to the harp who is in the Chapel of
the Osirian, the Patriarch of Amen, the blessed Neferhotep.]
He says :
The great one is truly at rest,'
the good charge is fulfilled. “
Men pass away since the time of Ra,
and the youths come in their stead.^
Like as Ra reappears every morning,
and Turn sets in the horizon,
' Job iii. 17. ^2 Tim. iv. 7. ® Eccles. i. 4.
EGYPTIAN LITERATURE.
125
men are begetting,
and women are conceiving.
Every nostril inhaleth once the breezes of dawn,
but all born of women go down to their places.
Make a good day, O holy father !
Let odours and oils stand before thy nostril.
Wreaths of lotus are on the arms and the bosom of thy sister,
dwelling in thy heart, sitting beside thee.
Let song and music be before thy face,
and leave behind thee all evil cares !
Mind thee of joy, till cometh the day of pilgrimage,
when we draw near the land which loveth silence.^
Make a good day, O blessed Neferhotep,
thou Patriarch perfect and pure of hands !
He finished his existence ....
Their abodes pass away,
and their place is not ;
they are as they had never been born
since the time of Ra.
(They in the shades) are sitting on the bank of the river,
thy soul is among them, drinking its sacred water,
following thy heart, at peace ....
Give bread to him whose field is barren,
thy name will be glorious in posterity for evermore ;
they will look upon thee
(The priest clad in the skin) of a panther will pour to the
ground
and bread will be given as offerings ;
' Eccles. iii. 13; v. 18; viii. 15; Is. xxii. 13; Wisdom of Solomon,
chap. ii.
126
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
the singing women ....
Their forms are standing before Ra,
their persons are protected .
Rannu will come at her hour,
and Shu will calculate his day,
thou shalt awake .... (woe to the bad one !)
He shall sit miserable in the heat of infernal fires.*
Make a good day, O holy father,
Neferhotep, pure of hands !
No works of buildings in Egypt could avail,
his resting-place is all his wealth ....
Let me return to know what remaineth of him !
Not the least moment could be added to his life,
(when he went to) the realm of eternity.
Those who have magazines full of bread to spend,
even they shall encounter the hour of a last end.^
The moment of that day will diminish the valour of the rich.
Mind thee of the day when thou too shalt start for the land,
to which one goeth to return not thence.'*
Good for thee then will have been (an honest life),^
therefore be just, and hate transgressions, “
for he who loveth justice (will be blessed).
The coward and the bold, neither can fly (the grave),
the friendless and proud are alike . . .**
Then let thy bounty give abundantly as is fit,
(love) truth, and Isis shall bless the good,
(and thou shalt attain a happy) old age.
’ Mark ix. 44. ^ Luke xii. 18-21.
^ The Assyrians also called Hades ‘ the land of no return and it w
there that Ishtar went to seek Tammuz.
Ls. xxxvii. 37. ® Amos V. 15. ®Jol>iii. 14-19.
'v_^ • •
y - , r?-
\
Osiris. Harpocrates. Basht. Mat. Isis and Horus.
GROUP OF EGYPIIAN GODS. FvO}}l Ovt^lUdls HI t/lC MllSCUDl,
129
CHAPTER VI.
The Egyptian Religion.^
The number of gods which went to form the Egyptian
Pantheon is at once surprising and confusing. Every
nome possessed its god, and of course supported a
number of priests to carry on its worship. In some
places triads of gods existed ; for example, at Thebes
the triad was composed of Amen, Mut, and Chonsu ;
and at Abydos, of Osiris, Isis, and Horus.. Often too
we meet with groups of nine gods, and some texts in
speaking of the gods repeat the sign for ‘ god ’ eighteen
times, to indicate a double group of nine, or the entire
company of the greater and lesser cycles of the gods.
Frequently the same god has different titles in different
places ; and the god of a certain town has generally a
title given to him which shows that he inhabits that town,
or is lord of it. The names of one god are at times very
numerous, for example, in one inscription the Sun-god Ra
is addressed under seventy-two different names, and a
whole chapter of the Book of the Dead is given up to the
* The authorities to he consulted on this subject are Renouf, ‘ Hibbert
Lectures Wilkinson, ‘ Ancient Egyptians,’ 2nd edition, with Dr. Birch’s
notes ; Brugsch, ‘ Religion und Mythologie deralten Aegypter, Part I., and
Lanzone, ‘ Dizionaris di Mitologia Egizia,’ Turin, i83i.
I
130
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
names of Osiris. In such lists we often find one god
identified with another, and indeed with several others ;
so then it is at once evident that a large number of the
minor deities are merely forms of the great gods ; and
the same statement applies even to the great gods them-
selves. For example, the god Ra when he rose in the
morning was called Harmachis, i.e., Har on the horizon ;
at mid-day he was called Ra, and in the evening he was
Atum or T mu. The gods were supposed to eat and drink,
and to have every attribute of man physical and mental.
The Egyptian word for god was 7iu1ar, which word
Renouf considers to mean ‘ power.’ It has been ex-
plained by Brugsch as meaning the ‘ operative power
which engenders and makes things in a regular recurrence,
which endows them with new life, and gives back to
them their youthful freshness.’ The Egyptian called
every god nut dr ; but in addition to this he seems to
have had an idea of God which will bear some comparison
in sublimity with our own. Eor example, let us take an
extract from a hymn : —
God is One and Alone, and there is none other with Him.^
God is the One, the One who has made all things.'^
God is a Spirit, a hidden Spirit, the Spirit of Spirits, the
great Spirit of Egypt, the divine Spirit.^
God is from the beginning, and has existed from the
beginning.^
Compare —
' Deut. vi. 4 ; 2 Sam. vii. 22; Is. xlv. 5, 21 ; Mai. ii. 10 ; I Cor. viii. 6 ;
Eph. iv. 6. * John i. 3 ; Col. i. 16.
John iv. 24 ; Heb. xii. 9. ^ Gen. i. l ; Tohn i. l ; Col. i. 17.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
131
He is the primeval One, and existed when as yet nothing
existed : He existed when as yet there was nothing, and
whatever is. He made it after He was.* He is the Father
of beginnings.* God is Eternal,® He is everlasting, and
without end, Perpetual, Eternal : He has endured for
endless time, and will exist henceforward for ever.^
God is hidden, and no one hath perceived His form, no one
hath fathomed His likeness,® He is hidden in respect of
gods and men, and' is a mystery to His creatures.®
God is the Truth,* He lives by Truth, He lives upon Truth,
Pie is the King of Truth'.
God is Life, and man lives through Him alone.*
He blows the breath of Life* into their nostrils.
God is Father*® and Mother; the Father of fathers, and the
Mother of mothers.
God begets,** but he is not begotten, He gives birth to, but is
not given birth to.
He begets Himself, and gives birth to Himself, He makes,**
but is not made. He is the Creator of His own form,
and the Fashioner of His body. God is the Creator
Compare —
* Rev. iv. II. ^ Rev. i. 8. ® Deut. xxxiii. 27 ; i Tim. i. 17.
■* Ps. X. 16 ; xc. 2 ; cii. 25-27 ; Jer. x. 10.
Ex. xxxiii. 20 ; John i. 18 ; I Tim. vi. 16.
® Job XXX vii. 23.
* Ps. XXV. 10; xxxi. 5; Ivii. 3; Ixxxix. 14; xci. 4 ; c. 5; cxlvi. 6;
Jer. X. 10; John xiv. 6.
® Acts xvii. 28.
* Gen. ii. 7 ; Job. xii. 10 ; xxxiii. 4 ; Ps. xxxiii. 6 ; Dan. v. 23 ; Acts
xvii. 25.
'® Deut. xxxii. 6 ; Ps. xxvii. 10 ; Ixviii. 5 ; Is. ix. 6 ; Mai. ii. 10.
” Ps. ii. 7 ; John i. 14, 18 ; iii. 16, 18 ; compare the 112th Surah of the
Koran. Prov. xvi. 4; Is. xlv. 12; Jer. xxvii. 5.
I 2
132
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
of heaven and earth, the deep, the water, and the
mountains. God stretches out the heavens, and makes
firm the earth beneath.*
That which emanates from (i.e., the desire of) His heart is
performed immediately, and when He has once spoken,
it actually comes to pass and endures for ever and ever.*
God is the father of the gods, and the progenitor of all
deities.*
God is compassionate to those that fear Him* and hears
those who cry unto Him.® He protects the weak
against the strong.® God knows those who know
Him,'? He rewards those who serve Him,® and protects
those who follow Him.®
In these sentences we see at once that the Egyptians
had recognized the unity, eternity, and infinity of the
Deity, as well as His loving-kindness. Moreover, in the
moral maxims laid down by the Egyptians it is very
evident when they used the word God, they referred to a
being with such attributes as have been stated above.
As for example : —
To obey is to love God, but to disobey is to hate Him.*®
Compare —
* Ps. civ. 5 ; Prov. viii. 28 ; Is. xl. 12 ; xlii. 5 > Amos iv. 13.
^ Ps. cxlviii. 5, 6.
^ Deut. X. 17 ; Ps. Ixxxvi. 8; cxxxv. 5.
■* Ex. xxxiv. 6 ; Num. xiv. 18 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 9 ; Lam. iii. 22 ; Rom. ix. 15.
® Num. XX. 16 ; Ps. xxxiv. 17.
® Ps. XXXV. 10 ; Prov. xxii. 22, 23 ; Mai. iii. 5.
" Ps. i. 6 ; Nah. i. 7-
® Ps. Iviii. II ; Is. xl. 10 ; Luke xix. 12-27.
® for the full German translation, see Brugsch, ‘ Religion und Mythologie,’
p. 97. *® I Sam. XV. 22, 23.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
133
Let not thy voice become loud in the temple of God, for
such things He abominates^
God knows the wicked ; He smites the wicked even to
blood.2
The most important of the Egyptian gods were : —
Male.
Amen-Ra
Ptah ... ...
Harmachis
Ra ■
Mentu Ra
Seb ... ...
Osiris ...
Asar-hapi or Serapis ...
Horus ...
Harpocrates ...
Bes
Anubis...
Set
Compare —
* Eccles. V. I, 2, 6 ; Matt. vi. 6, 7.
^ Ps. Iviii. 10; cxxix. 4; Prov. iii. 33; xiv. ii.
134
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Thoth ...
Shu
Chnum
Chonsu
Tmu
Sebak ...
P'emale.
Mut
Se^et ...
Bast
Neith ...
Nut
Isis
Athor ...
Nephthys
Ta-ur (Thoueris)
Ma
Hapi (the Nile)
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
135
THE GENII OF THE DEAD,
Amset ...
- (11^ =
Hapi ...
- 0^^
Tuaumutef
Kebhsenuf
-
THE ENEMY OF RA.
Apap ...
* * * Q Q
Ptah was the chief god, and was called the ‘ lord of
truth.’ He made the egg from which the sun and moon
came forth, was the father of the gods, who came forth
from his eye, and of men, who came forth from his mouth.
His seat was Memphis, and he is represented as a
mummy holding the symbols of life, stability and power,
^ He was worshipped at Memphis under the form
of Ptah-Socharis-Osiris, and under this form he was
connected with Hades and the dead.
Sepulchral figures of Ptah-Socharis-Osiris are found
with a box attached to them, to hold mummied
objects. The animal sacred to Ptah was the Apis.
After Ptah came the great Sun-god Ra. He was the
great god of Heliopolis, the ‘city of the sun his father
was Nu or the sky, across which he sailed in a boat
loi. His children were called Shu and Tefnut ;
and he waged war against the demon of darkness called
Apap. In the morning the sun was called Harmachis
136
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
at mid-day Ra, and at evening Turn, The Sun-
god Ra died every night, but created himself anew each
morning. The hawk and the Mnevis bulls were the
animals sacred to him.
Osiris was the eldest child of Nut, ‘the heaven,’ and Seb,
‘ the earth.’ Before he was bom he married his sister
Isis, and they had a son called Horus. A brother and
another sister of his, Set and Nephthys, also married each
other. Osiris and Isis lived together very happily ; but
their brother Set conspired against him, and at a feast
induced him to go into a box ; it was immediately closed,
carried to the Nile, thrown in, and borne away by the river.
Isis, distracted with grief, searched everywhere for the
Figure of Ptah-Socharis-Osiris, and Box for holding Mummied Object.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
139
body of her husband, and at last finding it she hid it,
and went to fetch her son Horus, to help her to avenge his
father. When out hunting one day. Set found the body
of Osiris, cut it in pieces, and strewed them everywhere.
The faithful Isis hearing this, gathered together the
fragments and buried them ; and then she built a
sepulchre over each, Osiris, however, still lived, and
was king of the infernal regions. Now, the meaning of
the story is this : Osiris and Isis are the offspring of the
sky and the earth. Nut and Seb. Seb is represented as
a goose as such, laid the golden egg, the sun,
or Osiris. Isis was the dawn, and Horus her son by Osiris
was the sun in his full strength. The wicked brother and
sister that conspired against Osiris were Set the
Darkness, and Nephthys the Sunset. So the victory
of Set over Osiris is the victory of night over day, or
of darkness over light. On the following day Horus,
or the sun in his strength, would arise and spread light
over the whole world, and so his father Osiris would be
revenged through his (Horus’) victory over Set.
Osiris was called the ‘ good being,’ and was the judge
of the souls of the dead. In religious texts the deceased
person is always called Osiris.
Anubis, the god of the dead, was the son of Nephthys
^md Osiris. He is called the ‘ Chief of the mountain,’ i.e.,
of the western hills where the dead were buried.
Anubis is represented in a picture as the embalmer of
140
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
his father Osiris ; and a common title of his was ‘ lord of
embalming.’
The Egyptian god of writing and presiding deity of
libraries was called Thoth, or in Egyptian Tahuti. He
was the inventor of the arts, sciences, and astronomy,
and he is usually represented ibis-headed. He was
scribe in the infernal regions, and was supposed to keep
a record of the actions of the dead. In one hand he
holds a palette, and with the other he traces with a reed
the destiny of the deceased. He also represents the
moon ; and as a lunar god he wears either the disk of
the full moon or the horns of the crescent moon upon
his head. As the god of the moon he measured months,
seasons, and years.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
I4I
Tmu was another form of the Sun-god, and was the
setting sun. He was considered to be the creator of men
and things, and gave the ‘ cool breeze of the north wind ’
to mankind.
Nephthys neb het, ‘the lady of the house,’ was the
wife of Set, the demon who fought against and
conquered Osiris. She is represented on coffins and
other sepulchral objects standing or kneeling at the
bier of Osiris, and beating her head for grief at the
death of her husband and brother.
Horus, or the ‘ young sun,’ was the son of Osiris and
the god who waged war with Set. He was the god
called ‘ avenger of his father,’ and his battles against
darkness are the favourite theme of compositions in the
later days of the Empire. The bird sacred to Horus
was the hawk.
Mut, a goddess represented by a vulture, was one of
the forms of the feminine creative principle.
Isis was the wife of Osiris, and had many forms. She
gave life to and suckled the youthful Horus : hence a
very large number of statues of this goddess represent
her seated with Horus upon her knees and wearing a
disk and horns upon her head.
Hathor or Athor is supposed to be a form of Isis.
She is represented at times as a standing figure with a
cow’s head, upon which are a disk and horns ; in her
right hand she carries the symbol of life ■^, and in her
left a sceptre J. At other times she is depicted as a
142
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
young and beautiful woman, with a vulture’s head on
her forehead, and wearing a disk and horns. Her name
means the ‘house of Horus,’ for it was
supposed that he took refuge and grew up under the
fostering care of this loving and protectful goddess.
Sekhet and Bast were the deities to whom the cat and
lion were sacred. They are represented by standing
figures having the head of a cat or lion, and wearing
the disk of the sun and a uraeus upon their head.
The god Chnumis was a form of the Sun-god. He is
called the ‘ creator of mankind,’ and is represented as
having made man out of clay on a potter’s wheel. He
was also the original father of all the gods ; and when
Osiris had been hacked to pieces by Set, he it was who
reconstructed the body.
Amen-Ra, together with Mut and Chonsu, formed the
great trinity at Thebes. Amen-Ra is represented as
a man coloured blue, wearing two long feathers on his
head, while in one hand he holds the symbol of life
and in the other a sceptre. The word Amen means
‘concealer,’ and this god is often invoked as the
‘concealer of his name.’ He was a solar deity, and
was styled ‘lord of the thrones of the earth;’ and in
him the attribute of every other deity was believed to be
found.
The Egyptian was a firm believer in immortality, and
it is not an uncommon thing to find the title '■living'
given to the deceased, indicating that his relatives
considered him to be enjoying everlasting life.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
143
During the festivals the gods were arrayed in sacred
vestments, the colour and style of which were all
prescribed by the sacred canons on this subject. The
offerings to the gods consisted of incense, wine, oil,
ointment, flowers, and sacred animals. The incense
was made into small balls, and then thrown into a
censer in the shape of a cup with a long handle. The
sacrificing of sacred animals was a most important
ceremony. Plutarch says that the most acceptable
offering to the god was a red ox, which calls to mind
the command to ‘ bring a red heifer without spot,
wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came
yoke.’' The law on this point was so strict, Plutarch
says, that a single black or white hair rendered the
beast unfit for sacrifice. With the Egyptians the heifer
was sacred; and it is most probable that the Jews
remembered this when they asked leave of Pharaoh to
go a distance of three days in the wilderness to sacrifice
to their God. The monuments, however, represent white
and black oxen being sacrificed on the altars of the
different gods, thereby showing that a red ox was not
absolutely necessary for propitiating the gods. Among
the offerings of plants the onion was a very favourite
gift, and it seems to have been as great a favourite with
the Egyptians as it was with the Hebrews. Ointment
was presented in jars with the name of the deity for
whom the ointment was intended inscribed upon it.
When a king laden with rich booty returned from an
* Nuin. xix. 2.
144
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
expedition into foreign countries, the sanctuaries of the
gods were enriched with enormous gifts of untold value
as thanksgivings for the victory. In the great Harris
Papyrus we are told that Rameses III. (among other
things) gave 10,047 cattle of different sorts, 73,800
cakes, 2,396 jars of dry dates, 4,339 waterfowl, 2,366
jars of onions, 41,980 living birds, 2,396 bottles of
grapes, 825,840 crystal beads, and 353,919 geese to the
temples of his land.
The priests of the gods formed the most important
caste in the land of Egypt. A certain number of them
were always by the side of the king, and from this caste
Pharaoh always chose his ministers and judges. They
offered sacrifices, and by their great knowledge they were
considered to be able to foresee coming events, and hence
to warn the king of the failure of an expedition, or to
foretell its success. Dr. Birch considers the following to
be the principal orders of the priests : — ^
niitar Jmi prophet.
nutar iitf divine father.
db purifier.
nutar meri ‘ god beloved.’
fa nutar sentra incense-bearer.
ker heb prayer-reciter.
hesi bard or poet.
^ Wilkinson’s ‘ Ancient Egyptians,’ i. p. 169.
Mummy of the lady Katebt, a Musician of the God Amen, from Thebe'.
Now in the British Museum.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
145
Queens and women of high rank took part in the
worship of the temples, and the principal dignities
held by such were ^ nutar heint, or ‘divine wife,’
ii2itar tjiat, ^ qema, and
aJii
‘ sistrum-bearer.’
The most important order of the priests was that of
‘ prophet.’ They were the authorities on every point
connected w'ith the w'orship of the gods and the ritual
of the temple. The priests were most scrupulously
clean in their habits and dress, and w'e are told that
they bathed four times during the twenty-four hours,
and shaved the whole body every three days. Their
food w'as sufficient, but no more, and the utmost care
was taken by them that nothing forbidden entered
into it. They used wine sparingly, and in common
with the Jews they hated the flesh of the pig, and were
accustomed to eat mutton. All vegetables were not
allow'ed to be eaten, but there can be no doubt that they
enjoyed such things as were offered to the gods. In
addition to their strict mode of life, they were compelled
to study much, and to be skilled in all the sciences
known in Egypt at that time. Their dress was usually
made of linen, and very simple. The chief priest,
however, wore a panther skin when he went to offer up
sacrifice, or to take part in the different processions at
a festival, and all the priests put on adornments during
the service in the temples. In common with a large
K
146
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
number of the people, they practised the rite of
circumcision, and this was considered a distinctive mark
between the Egyptians and the barbarians.
The power of the priests in Egypt must have been
enormous, for not only did they belong socially to the
highest caste in the land, but by their knowledge of
profane sciences and their direction of the ceremonies and
worship of the gods, whose representatives they were, they
acquired such a power and hold over the king and people,
that it would be exceedingly difficult to perform anything
of national importance without their aid. Moreover, the
right understanding of the beliefs and dogmas of the
religion of the land wa's locked up in their breasts, and
the knowledge of the mysteries of the gods was their
peculiar propertv. Little by little, too, everything con-
nected with the administration of the land fell under
the directing influence of their authority. They took
a very prominent part in the processions of the gods,
and a certain number of them carried the arks of their
gods in the festivals. Festivals were very frequent in
h2gypt, and the mere enumeration of the most important
of them takes up several lines on the sepulchral tablets.
The Egyptian’s belief in the immortality of the soul,
and matters of a kindred nature, we shall consider in
the chapter relating to the mummy.
147
CHAPTER VII.
The Burial of the Dead.
The most casual observer, on examining the Egyptian
collection of any of our European museums, will be at
once struck with surprise on seeing how large a portion
of it relates to the sepulchre and funereal rites of an
Egyptian. The most splendid objects, the best work-
manship, and the costliest things, were dedicated to the
tomb of the deceased by the loving relatives. It will
be readily understood that all tombs were not equally
beautiful, for then as now the magnificence of a funeral
depended upon the will and the power of the relatives
to pay for it ; but apparently every one did his best to
make the tomb of his friend or beloved as magnificent
as his circumstances permitted.
The making of tombs, as well as their decoration,
appears to have been carried out by one of the grades
of the priests, who no doubt persuaded those who
could afford it to indulge in a splendid funeral, for this
not only tended to their own magnificence, but to their
profit. And it is very certain that only the wealthy
could afford to indulge in the luxury of a tomb, with its
chambers and costly decorations of row's of hieroglyphs
and vignettes : also the cost of the coffins and the
process of mummifying would be considerable. The
K 2
148
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
tombs themselves belonged to the priests, who appar-
ently kept several in readiness for the family of the
deceased to choose from. Inscriptions and chapters of
the Book of the Dead and other sacred books were
inscribed also upon its walls, as well as pictures which
represented the life of an ordinary mortal, so that the
series would apply equally well to the life of any
purchaser; the only part left blank in the text being
places in which the names of the deceased and his titles
could be filled in. We have copies of the Book of the
Dead in which the name of the deceased is wanting
entirely, the reason being that the friends of the dead
man went in a hurry to the place where inscribed papyri
could be bought, and finding one ‘ ready made ’ which
suited their purse, they buried it with him, not taking
THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
149
the trouble to have his name inserted in the places
where it should be.
The friends of the dead of all classes endeavoured to
bury a copy of the whole or part of the Book of the
Dead with their beloved, for it w'as considered of the
greatest importance that the deceased in his journey
and wanderings through the nether w'orld should possess
the mystic power imparted by the magic words, formulse,
and prayers of the book, which was supposed to be of
divine origin, having been written by no less a deity
than Thoth, the recorder of the destinies of mankind.
The greatest frauds were perpetrated in this way, for
the scribe, knowing that in all probability the papyrus
would never be unrolled, would not take the pains, if he
were lazy, to write carefully and well, or if he vvere
ignorant would make hundreds of mistakes ; while if
he were both ignorant and lazy, he would produce such
hopeless confusion in an inscription that not even the
most learned scribe or prie.st could make sense of it.
Again, if the scribe were ever so well disposed, but had
to copy fi'om a hieratic version, and did not undei'stand
what he was writing, he would undoubtedly make
scoi'es of blunders.
When an important pei'son needed a tomb, the
purchase was usually effected by means of a legal
docum.ent ; but if a man died in debt the tomb was
seized by the ci'editoi's, who could even prevent the
deceased Bom being buried therein. Diodorus tells us
that the Egyptians called their houses hostelries, on
150
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
account of the short time which they dwelt in them ;
but they called the tombs ‘ eternal dwelling-places.’
This latter statement is fully borne out by the
inscriptions, for they call the tomb ‘ house of ever-
lasting.’ ^
I'rom investigations made by Mariette at Sakkarah,
it appears that a tomb, or 7nastaba, of the ancients
Empire consisted of a chamber or series of chamber
above ground, a narrower chamber or corridor, and
a deep pit sunk into the rock, which led to a vault
for holding the sarcophagus. When a visitor entered
the chamber and looked around, he saw the walls
(frequently covered with pictures), and a stele facing to
the east, which was always covered with a hieroglyphic
inscription. This chamber was always found without a
door, and the stele with the inscription appears to have
been the most important part of the chamber ; while in
the corridor next to the chamber were placed images or
statues of the deceased. Often this part of the tomb
had no communication whatever with the other parts of
it, for it was walled up entirely and for ever : at other
times a small square opening was made in it, in order to
allow the perfume of the incense offered in the other
chamber to come in to the statues. The pit or well was
square, and varied in depth from 40 to 80 feet ; there
was neither staircase nor ladder leading from the upper
part of the tomb to the bottom of the pit, and unless
I
, pa et.
THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 151
provided with a rope ladder, it was impossible for a
visitor to descend. Following a narrow passage leading
from the pit, the sarcophagus chamber was reached, in
one corner of which stood the sarcophagus itself How
difficult it was to break into a tomb to do harm to the
mummy is at once seen, since it would be necessary to
obtain entrance to the chamber or chapel, to break-
through the partition wall separating the chamber from
the corridor, and to find means of descent into the pit
itself
Let us go back again to the first chamber.
"Within the chamber, and over the door of the tomb,
the same inscription was carved, which prayed : ‘ May
Anubis, who dwells within the divine house, grant a
royal oblation. May sepulture be granted in the nether
world, in the land of the divine Menti, the ancient, the
good, the great, to him the departed) who is faithful
to the great god. May he advance upon the blissful
paths upon which those advance who are faithful to
the great god. May the funereal oblations be paid to
him at the beginning of the year, on the feast of
Tehuti, on the first day of the year, on the feast of
Uaka, on the feasts of the Great and of the Small
Heat, on the apparition of Sechem at the feast of
Uaka, at the feasts of each month, and the half-month,
and every day.’ ^ Other prayers ask that the god will
ensure the gift of funereal offerings to the deceased,
‘ Renouf, ‘ Hibbert Lectures,’ p. 131 ; ‘ Revue Archeologique,’ p. 82,
vol. xix., 1869.
152
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILfL
and that he will cause him to be buried after a ‘happy
old age.’
But the tomb, besides serving for the abode of the
dead, was also the page upon which the biography of
its builder was written. The rich and wealthy Egyptian
first chose out his place of sepulture, and when all its
parts were built under his own superintendence, he
caused the principal passages of his life to be drawn in
vivid colours upon the walls of the upper chamber. He
was depicted leading a life of luxury, he hunted, he
fished, he made expeditions, he was surrounded by a
large retinue of servants, and nothing of importance was
omitted from these illustrations of his life. At times
the builder did not live to finish his tomb, hence
Mariette found at Sakkarah a number of incomplete
tombs ; and he mentions a curious case where a tomb
was built for one Ape-em-ankh, but in the corridor two
inscriptions are found stating that he gave up his own
tomb to his wife and to his son, who died very young.
But how were the poor buried.? Judging from the
skeletons which remain, they were simply buried in the
sand to the depth of about a yard ; for traces of neither
coffins nor bandages have been found. In the latter
days of the Egyptian empire, stelae which were erected
by the friends or family of the deceased often contain a
summary of his life, his titles and various offices, his
good works, and he is made to speak and proclaim his
good deeds. The following translation will illustrate
this custom.
THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
153
STELE OF NEXT-AMES.
1. Dated the ist day of the month of the spring
of the year of the Majesty of Her Ra, the
powerful bull, the saffron diademed, the lord of the two
crowns, the supremely mighty, the destroyer of the
Asiatics, the golden hawk, the creator of the two earths ;
2. king of the north and south, chief of the nine bows,
Ra-xeperu-ari-mat, son of the Sun of his belly, lord of
diadems, godly father Ai, god, ruler of Hast, Osiris, lord
of Abydos beloved, giving life.
3. May south and north, and Anubis upon his
hill grant to me glory in heaven, power upon earth, and
triumph in xer-neter.' May they grant that I go in and
come forth from my tomb,
4. that my majesty refresh its shade, that I drink water from
my own cistern every day, that all my limbs be solid,
that the Nile
5. give me bread and flowers of every kind at the season,
that I pass over the length of my land every day without
ceasing, and that my soul
6. may light upon the branches of the trees which I have
planted. May I refresh my face beneath my sycamores,
may I eat bread of their giving,
7. may I have my mouth wherewith I may speak like the
followers of Horus, may I come forth to heaven, may I
descend to earth, may I be not shut out upon
8. the road, may there not be done to me what my ka
execrates, may my soul never be captive, may I be in
the midst of the obedient, among the faithful.
' Or Hades.
54
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
9. May I plough my fields in Sexet-Aaru^ may I attain the
‘ Field of Peace,’ may one come out to me with jugs of
beer and cakes,
10. the cakes of the lords of eternity, may I receive my slice
from the joint upon the table of the great god; I the
ka of Next- Ames, first prophet of the god Ames.
1 1. He says : I have done the behests of men and the will of
the gods, wherefore I have given bread to the hungry,
and I have satisfied the indigent. I have followed
12. the god in his temple, my mouth hath not spoken
in.solently against roy superior officers, there hath been
no haughtiness in my step, but I have walked
measuredly {gradatim), I have performed the law
beloved by the king.
13. I understood his commands, in my place I watched to
e.xalt his will, I rose up for his worship every day, I
gave my mind to what
14. he said without ever hesitating at what he determined
with reference to me, I took uprightness and fairness,
I understood the things about which I should keep
silence.
15. The lord my king refreshed and favoured me for my well
doing, he saw that my hands were vigorous through my
heart, he advanced my seat e.xceedingly, he placed me
in the council chamber, me,
r6. the ka of Next-Ames, triumphant, the superintendent of
the prophets of the lords of Apu. Says he : O ye
living upon earth, living for eternity, enduring for ever,
ye priests
17. and ministrants of Osiris, everyone learned in divine
traditions ; when ye enter my sepulchre and pass
THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
155
through it, do ye utter your prayers by my tablet and
do ye proclaim my name without cessation in
18. the presence of the lords of law. So may your gods
favour you, and may ye transfer your dignities to your
children after a full old age, provided that ye say,
19. ‘May Osiris grant a royal oblation to Next-Ames, lord of
fidelity, superintendent of works in the temple of Ai,
prince and first prophet of Ames and Isis. May his
memorial abide in the seat of eternity.’*
* ‘Tran.s. Sqc. Bib. Arch,’ vol. viii., Part III., p. 298.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Mummy.
The ancient Egyptians are the only people known
who have succeeded in bringing the art of embalming or
mummifying to perfection. They believed that the
.Soul with Symbols of Lile and Breath revisiting Mummied Body.
soul would revisit the body after a number of years, and
therefore it was absolutely nece.ssary that the body
should be preserved, if its owner wishes hve for ever
THE MUMiN^
with the gods. This ^
allusion is made '
Egyptians attri
represented as J
t 1 or image, ani
to him in his sec
to whom funere;
moment be ima
the statues of '
which was supp
that was the obj
attribute peculiar
one place we are tc
and fourteen kaii (
had its own body, ai
and to drink. ^ The
god of the universe,
doomed to undergo a i
at a fit state of purity
counterpart.
The Greek historians
mummies were made,
extracted through the nos^
' The whole of this subject is exceeding
referred to Mr. Le Page Renoufs article on the
Arch.,’ vi. p. 405 ; and to M. Maspero’s monograph on this matter,
for a discussion on the Soul and the Shade, see Dr. Birch’s paper in
Soc. Bib. Arch.,’ viii. pt. III. ; and Mr. W. H. Rylands, F.S.A., has (
many scenes from the monuments illustrating this subject.
ERS ON THE NILE.
' ’d with myrrh, cassia,
'♦;ron for seventy
er, the body was
gummed on the
In the second,
troduced, which
jld be removed
en laid in natron,
e flesh, and left
', the body was
1 given back to
cost about .£^250
e the third would
s shows that many
ere in use at different
Egyptians possessed
edicines and anatomy,
out of the body were
the Amenti or Hades,
lapi, Tuaumutef, and
e dedicated the larger
smaller intestines, to the
lOurth the liver. These were
._n had covers made in the shape
,, a jackal, and hawk respectively,
jars were placed in the tomb with the sarcophagus,
in the pictures which are painted on the outside of
nmies, these are often seen standing beneath the bier.
THE BOOK ON THE DEAD.
177
In the early part of the one hundred and twenty-fifth
chapter the deceased says : —
Hail, ye Gods who are in the Hall of Truth without any
deceit in your bodies, living off the dead in Heliopolis, devouring
their hearts before Horus in his disk ! Save ye me from the
god who feeds off the chief vitals on the day of the great
judgment. Let the Osiris go ; ye know he is without fault,
without evil, without sin, without crimes. Do not torture, do
not anything against him. He lives off truth, he has made his
delight in doing what men say, and the gods wish. The god
has welcomed him as he has wished. He has given food to the
hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, he has made
a boat for me to go by. He has made the sacred food of the
Gods, the meals of the Spirits. Take ye them to him, guard
ye them for him. Therefore do not accuse him before the
Lord of the Mummies; because his mouth is pure, his hands
are pure.
Further on comes a list of the offences which the
deceased has not committed, some of them being
identical with those mentioned above.
If the deceased succeeds in passing this ordeal satis-
factorily, he comes forth at once as a god (there is no
place of probation), he becomes identified with Osiris, in
whose shape his mummy was made, and he roams through
the fields of bliss at pleasure. The whole family of
Osiris then do for him as they have done for the god
himself, all his enemies are slain, their necks and
legs are broken, and they are annihilated for ever. In
future nothing can do him harm, and if all the legions
M
178
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
of night and darkness conspire to hurt them, their
efforts are powerless, for he is a ‘ GREAT GOD.’ When the
deceased has thus triumphed, his soul, his ka, and his
shadow are all restored to him, and they are never
more to be separated.
The Egyptian was a fatalist, he believed in dreams,
ghosts, and demoniacal possession, yet his high moral
ideal as exhibited by the inscriptions was of the purest
and best ; and when we compare his lofty conceptions
of the Deity with those of other nations, we see that he
stands remarkably alone. Thousands of years before
Christ, he had arrived at these ideas, and it will be
readily imagined that such a sensible and thoughtful
man was not so utterly ridiculous in his religious views
as he has been made to appear. Much that was absurd,
such as the belief in magical words, charms, and names,
had crept into his religion ; but it is quite impossible to
believe that the learned priests did not perceive its
futility, even though they did not oppose it actively.
Still, underneath the heap of rubbish which gathered
round their religion, there lie grains of truth and lofty
morality which are worth picking up even by the civilised
nations of to-day.
179
CHAPTER X.
The Life of the Ancient PIgyptians.
The ‘manners and customs’ of the ancient Egyptians
are made known to us by the histories of Herodotus,
Diodorus Siculus and others, and by the pictures on the
monuments and papyri^
When a child was born in Egypt, the mother made
an offering to the local divinity. The rearing of the
child of poor parents cost very little, for their food
was very simple, and their dress scanty and cheap ;
frequently they wore nothing at all, not even sandals.
The children of rich or well-to-do parents would have
an abundance of toys and playthings, and would be
dressed in the richest stuffs. The toys consisted of dolls,
figures of animals, and the like: the British Museum
possesses several specimens, and has recently acquired
a curious example of a toy in the shape of a wooden
cat with inlaid glass eyes, and a movable lower jaw
well lined with teeth. The mother carried her child
in a shawl tied round her. The children were educated
' For fuller information as to the life of the Egyptians, the reader is
referred to the excellent work of Sir Gardner Wilkinson, ‘ The Manners
and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,’ 2nd edition.
M 2
i8o
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
according to their station and their future position in
life. They were kept in strict subjection by their
parents, and respect to old age was particularly in-
culcated ; the children of the priests were educated very
thoroughly in writing of all kinds, hieroglyphic, hieratic,
and demotic, and in the sciences of astronomy, mathe-
matics, etc. The Jewish deliverer Moses was educated
after the manner of the priests, and the ‘ wisdom of the
Egyptians’ became a proverbial expression among the
outside nations, as indicating the utmost limit of human
knowledge.
Women of rank wore a skirt made of rich stuff
fastened at the waist, and over their shoulders a large
loose robe, which was tied at the waist. They wore
costly head-dresses, and their hair was usually plaited.
Long hair was considered beautiful, and packets of hair
are found with mummies, showing how much it was
prized. In the later days of the empire they wore
earrings, generally made of gold ; and the custom of
wearing rings on the fingers was common and wide-
spread. The necklace was a very favourite ornament
with both sexes, and the reader will get a very good
idea of its varieties by a few minutes’ study of those
exhibited in the first Egyptian room of the British
Museum. Two very important articles of an Egyptian
lady’s toilet were the kohl pot, and the ointment vase. The
former contained a substance, frequently antimony,
with which the ladies were accustomed to paint a black
line round their eyes, to make them appear larger, and
THE LIFE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. l8l
SO increase their beauty. The Bible reader will not
need to be reminded that Jezebel painted her eyes when
she heard that Jehu was coming to Jezreel;^ and this
custom is referred to elsewhere in Scripture.^ The
kohl was applied to the eyes by means of a little stick,
thick at one end ; the British Museum possesses a large
number of kohl pots, some pierced with as many as
five holes, in which the various unguents of an Egyptian
lady’s toilet were kept. The Egyptian lady used a
copper mirror, very highly polished ; the handles were
of different shapes, and frequently bore the name of the
owner. Baths with the Egyptians, as with the Romans,
were considered of primary importance.
The Egyptian gentleman wore a kind of apron, and a
sleeved garment, which he fastened round his waist with
a girdle or sash like the women. The dress of the
priests and the sacred scribes was made of linen, but in
other respects resembled that of an ordinary gentleman.
The men always shaved, but locks of hair were left on
eertain parts of the heads of children. The dress of the
king was most gorgeous, consisting of robes of the most
beautiful stuffs and the richest ornaments. His head-
dress was a short wig, to the front of which was i ttached
a serpent. Both sexes wore sandals, made of a sort ot
wicker work or leather ; they were sometimes carried
by attendants, and were always taken off in the presence
of the king.
The monuments give us no information about the
> 2 Kings ix. 30. " Jer. iv. 30 ; Ezek. xxiii. 40.
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
1 82
marriage ceremony, but it appears that if a man married
a second wife while the first was living, he was
compelled to pay a heavy fine to the first wife, and
her son inherited the property. Polygamy was certainly
practised by some of the nobles and kings of Egypt ;
but as a rule the monuments give us the idea that the
Egyptians were very affectionate in their domestic
relations, and so the peace of the house was not likely to
be broken by the introduction of a second wife. The
kings sometimes married foreigners, for Rameses II. took
a daughter of the prince of the Khita to wife. The
Egyptian priests, like the Jewish, were allowed to have
one wife only. The wife was reckoned in genealogies,
and a woman was not forbidden by law to rule over the
kingdom. The marriage of brother and sister was a
custom that obtained, and the Ptolemies are notorious
examples of this practice.
The king, as being the representative of the god Ra
upon earth, was the highest and most important man in
Egypt. It was necessary that he should be a learned
man, a warrior, and able to rule. He bore various titles
of honour, ‘son of the Sun’ being not the least among
them. Royal names were enclosed in a cartouche
a
and each king had a different appellation,
which was placed before the family name, and is generally
called the prenomen. The king declared war and
made peace, he was the god and father of the land, he
judged cases in public, and in war he led the army.
He took part in the processions of offerings to the gods.
THE LIFE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 1 83
and was priest as well as king ; he made offerings
to the gods personally, entreating them to give him a
prosperous and happy reign. The Egyptian king, like
the Jewish, v/as anointed, and his double crown was
supposed to be given him by his favourite deities. In
one scene Rameses II. is being crowned by Set, above
whose head is written, ‘ I set up thy head-dress on thy
head like thy father Amen-Ra and on the other side
of the king stands Thoth, holding a palm branch
plentifully notched, indicative of a long number of years,
while above him is written, ‘I give thee duration of life
of years like Tmu.’
The dignity of king was hereditary, but queens were
allowed to rule when the lawful heir was too young.
The first object of the king was supposed to be the
welfare of his people, both temporal and spiritual.
Minor matters of administration would be disposed of
by his subordinates, but things of importance would
come before him and be discussed with his leading
advisers and councillors. When the king died, or
ascended to heaven, as the Egyptians would say, the
son of the Sun was dead, and hence universal mourning
prevailed in the land. The temple services ceased, the
whole of the business arrangements of the towns were
unhinged, and a general fast was observed ; and just as
the king during life surpa.ssed every one else by his
glory, so in death the beauty of his funeral and its
appointments surpassed that of all others. The greatest
‘ Wilkinson, iii. p. 361.
1 84 the dwellers on the NILE,
care was taken of the mummies of the great kings, and the
safest spots were chosen in the mountains and elsewhere
for their places of burial. The mummy was taken by a
procession which crossed the river in boats, and then
wended its way to the west of Thebes, Memphis, or
wherever the tombs were. It was then lifted from the
bier, and placed upright in the tomb,, and ceremonies
were performed before it by the priest or priests. The
great cemetery, or ‘ land of life ’ as the Egyptians called
it, was at Memphis, where the remains of thousands
upon thousands of people have been found, for it was
the burial-place of that region for thousands of years.
The Egyptians lived in houses which consi.sted gener-
ally of two stories, built for the most part of unbaked
brick ; they built them side by side, and so formed
streets. The houses of the wealthy covered a very large
extent of ground, and appear to have been provided with
a courtyard in the centre, and rows of trees. Of a small
house a good idea may be got from the model which is
preserved in the British Museum. There are three small
rooms in it on the ground floor, and a flight of steps leads
through a gallery to a rectangular doorless upper
chamber, in which is seated the figure of a man : in
the courtyard is the figure of a woman kneading dough
at a table. The doors, opening inwards, swung on pins
in sockets, and were fastened by bolts or bars as well as
by locks and keys, though these latter only appear in
the last days of the empire. The floors were made of
stone or clay, and Wilkinson thought that the roofs
THE LIFE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 1 85
were supported by rafters of the date tree arranged
close together.* The tops of the houses were frequently
used by the inhabitants to take the air in the cool of
the evening ; hence we may decide that there was a
railing round about the top of the house, to prevent a
sleepy or dozing person from falling off. It will be
remembered that to ‘ make a battlement for thy roof’* is
a positive command laid down by Moses in the Penta-
teuch.
In the houses of the wealthy the walls would be
beautifully sculptured and decorated, and we may
conclude that the same art which rendered their tombs
so brilliant with colours and so beautiful, would be used
to make the interiors of their houses attractive and
pleasing ; and their furniture was of the richest kind.
From the monuments we gather that the leading
members of the aristocracy had large estates, in which
their mansions stood, and upon these were kept
horses, cattle, poultry, and a large number of servants.
The Egyptian landlord had his stewards, who kept an
account of the revenues of his lord and transacted all
his business affairs. Parts of these estates were laid out
^ as gardens with pieces of ornamental water in them, and
round about were planted rows of palm trees and vines.
The principal occupation of a great part of the people
of Egypt was agriculture; this being the case, we are
not surprised to find that all its operations were again
carried on in the fields of Elysium by the blessed dead.
‘ Wilkinson, ‘ Ancient Egypt,’ i. p. 357. * Deut. xxii. 8.
186
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
The king was the great patron of agriculture, and the
figures deposited with the dead are always made with
a hoe in one hand and a whip in the other. The
growing of grain made Egypt rich, and the scarcity of
food in countries where agriculture was less attended to
would make foreigners flock there to buy corn and
bread. We have already seen that Amenemha III.
built a huge lake with sluices and canals attached in
order that the country round about might be watered ;
and the strictest attention was paid to the rise of
the Nile, on whose inundation the hopes of a good
year were centred. Kilometers were established at
various points, and people were told off to watch them,
and to give warning if the inundation was likely to prove
destructive, or, on the other hand, to announce a plenteous
and prosperous season. The rising of the Nile began
about the middle of June, and as the waters rose they
turned from green to dark red. When the water began
to go back, great care was taken to prevent it from
running out of the fields, by making dykes and
embankments. The water remaining behind was in a
short time absorbed into the fields, and its fertilizing mud
was ready for the husbandman. The ground was then
broken up with plough or hoe, the seed was sprinkled in,
and its treading in performed by cattle driven there for
the purpose. If the height of the inundation was
1 6 cubits, it was well for Egypt and her people; but if
only 12, a famine was the result.
The Egyptian kings kept a standing army, but made
THE LIFE OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 1 8/
use of mercenary troops from the earliest times. The
troops were armed with bow, spear, shield, dagger,
knife, axe, sling, and sword. They wore helmets and
coats of armour. The shield was frequently covered
with leather outside, and the hand grasped it by means
of a thong. The army was divided into sections, and
each section had its own standard ; kings, princes,
generals, and nobles drove in chariots.
The Egyptian laws were strict, but had been made
with the welfare of the country in view. The punish-
ment of murder was death ; adultery and treason were
punished by cutting off the nose of the offender, and
strangling was resorted to occasionally ; while the
punishment of theft was flogging.
The Egyptians lived upon the flesh of various creatures,
such as the bull, goat, geese, pigeons, ducks, as well as
upon cheese, milk, and certain vegetables ; while the poor
would eat the lotus, papyrus, and onion freely. At
table they ate with their hands or with spoons. Wine,
drunk out of a shallow bowl, was a common accompani-
ment of a meal, and was partaken of by both sexes.
The vines were supported on a series of forked sticks,
and were sometimes made to extend the whole length of
one side of the garden. The monuments show that there
was a pool or tank of water near the vineyard, that apes
or monkeys were used to gather the grapes, and that
the juice was pressed from the grapes either in a bag
or in a foot press. That drunkenness existed is evident
from the fact that one of the tombs in Beni-Hassan repre-
i88
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
sents a drunken man being carried home from a feast.
There is another drink frequently mentioned on the
monuments, and that is beer, made from the red barley.
The sepulchral tablets make the deceased pray that
cakes and jugs of beer may be brought to him in the
nether world ; hence we may gather that it was much
esteemed in Egypt.
The Egyptians were passionately fond of hunting, and
the animals hunted were the hyaena, the gazelle, the
crocodile, and the hippopotamus ; the first two were either
shot with bow and arrows, or noosed, and the last were
speared. Birds were caught in a trap made of network, or
with a fowling stick ; and fish were caught with the rod
and line or speared.
CHAPTER XI.
Architecture and Art.
In architecture the Egyptians have made to them-
selves a name which will last as long as the world
endures. The pyramids, which belong to a period of
more than three thousand years before Christ, are
familiar to all, and they were justly ranked among the
seven wonders of the world. Closely following on these
wonderful buildings come the sternly beautiful temples ;
and from these we see that the Egyptians were perfect
masters of architectural design and detail, and also of
the knowledge of the means for cutting, polishing, and
hoisting to a great height immense masses of granite
weighing many hundreds of tons. The temples of the
gods, the obelisks recording victories and glories
achieved, and the pyramid tombs, were meet objects
on which to display their science of building, which
every succeeding generation has admired, and vainly
tried to imitate.
The principal periods of Egyptian architecture and art
are as follows ; —
1. Under the kings of the fourth, fifth, and sixth
dynasties the most handsome and majestic edifices
190
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
were built, such as the pyramids and mastabas, or tombs.
The former we have referred to under the reigns of the
kings who built them, and the latter we described on
page 150. If nothing else but these monuments
remained to us of the works of art of this period, we
should be compelled to admit that the Egyptians of
those times were mighty builders. Biit fortunately we
have other remains of the work of the people of those
days, in the shape of beautifully executed statues ; from
which we see that the artist not only meant to produce
a statue and likeness, but succeeded in giving to its
features a true likeness of the man. The most remark-
able statues of this class are those of Chephren^ the
third king of the fourth dynasty, and the builder of the
second pyramid, and that of the ‘ chief of the village,’
which are preserved in the Boulak Museum in Egypt.
In these statues nature has been copied carefully
and accurately ; and spectators who are accustomed
to the sight of the later conventional Egyptian art, are
surprised into admiration when they see before them
figures whose features are evidently ‘ speaking likenesses ’
of the inhabitants of the Nile valley more than
five thousand years ago. With the death of the last
king of the sixth dynasty this remarkable style of art
drooped, and eventually disappeared ; a long period of
artistic inactivity then followed, until the eleventh or
twelfth dynasty, when Egyptian art burst forth into a
new life.
II. The most remarkable productions of the second
ARCHITECTURE AND ART, I9I
period of Egyptian architecture and art are the obelisks
of Heliopolis, upon which in later days Joseph must
have looked ; and the rock tombs of Beni-Hassan,
scenes from which are described on page 64. In
these tombs windows and pillars are introduced, and the
scenes portrayed on the walls are invaluable for the
insight they give us into the manners and customs of
the Egyptians, their festivals, and their manufacturing
operations. The workmen and artists of this period did
not produce such life-like works as those of the earlier
periods, but were tied down by a rigid conventionality,
which destroyed the independence and freedom of their
designs, and fettered the simple grandeur of their pro-
ductions. Following close upon this revival of art
under the eleventh and twelfth dynasties, came a second
period of oblivion, caused by the subjugation of Egypt
by the Shepherd Kings, when not only were no works of
art or important edifices built, but the first few of these
rulers are thought to have destroyed the beautiful
monuments of the kings of the first empire. Egyptian
art did not absolutely decline under these rulers, but it
seems to have existed in a desultory and stagnant
fashion ; and, as we should expect, to these rough, and
compared to the Egyptian, uncouth, despots, art and
architecture were of secondary importance.
III. The third period begins with the expulsion of
the Hyksos and the accession of Amasis, the first king
of the eighteenth dynasty, about 1700 B.C. The art
of this period culminated under Rameses II., the
192
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
oppressor of the Israelites. His father, Seti I., had
drawn largely upon the services of the architects, the
artists and the labourers, in order to design and build
magnificent and mighty temples, and to cover them
with scenes and inscriptions commemorative of his
battles and exploits. Under the rule of Rameses II,
the most beautiful artistic works were executed ; and
the oppressor king, with the assistance of myriads of
captives and legions of Egyptian.s, erected some of the
largest and best-proportioned edifices which the world
has ever seen. After the reign of Rameses II. art and
architecture again declined, and but little good work was
produced until the twenty-sixth dynasty, about 666 B.C.
IV. Under the twenty-sixth dynasty, inaugurated by
Psammetichus I., there again appeared delicately
wrought buildings and elegant works of art. The
Egyptian architects and artists went so far in their
imitation of the works of past dynasties, as to
reproduce on their tombs the texts Avhich were
inscribed upon the tombs of the fifth and sixth dynasties,
nearly three thousand years before.
V. The fifth and last stage in Egyptian architecture
and art is that which flourished under the Ptolemies.
These rulers made use of the native Egyptian skill in
building and decorating to a wonderful extent ; but it is
easy to .see that the artists of that time only copied
what had gone before, merely keeping up the traditional
letter, while the spirit of the work was long since dead.
The knowledge of the old hieroglyphic language died
ARCHITECTURE AND ART.
193
out many years before the Ptolemies, and many of the
characters had new and different values given to them
under their rule. Besides this, since the national
characteristics of the Egyptian race, their religion, and
manners, and customs had been all changed under the
new rulers, how could the art and architecture of the
old and middle empires survive ? Changes came on
swiftly and surely, and the Egyptians hastened to
welcome and adopt the wonderfully beautiful art of the
Greeks.
As the Egyptian believed that his soul and the gods
lived for ever, his first care was that his tomb and his
temples should be everlasting. Keeping this in mind,
he built them carefully and well, and of the best
materials ; they bear upon them the impress of edifices
constructed for eternity, and not for time. The Egyptian
delighted in forming massive buildings and colossi, but
he was also able to build light and elegant buildings
suitable for the residences of his Pharaohs. He under-
stood the use of the arch, he was thoroughly familiar
with the importance of pillars and columns, he excelled
in working the hardest stone, he built everlasting
structures, and he remains almost without equal in his
skill in decorating walls.
And finally, the Egyptian was an expert and skilful
manufacturer, a wonderful worker in gold and precious
stones, and an expert weaver in linen : he was a keen and
enterprising trader, and apparently exceedingly ready to
take advantage of the foreign merchant. He disliked
N
T94 the dwellers on the NILE.
the foreigner, but when it was to his advantage to
tolerate him, he did so, and was willing to accord to
him due honour for his services, as in the parallel cases
of Joseph and Saneha, ‘the child of the sycamore.’ As
a rule he was obedient to authority, and under good
generals fought well and did mighty deeds. He was
learned, witty, sarcastic, and devoted to the arts and
.sciences, good-tempered, and of a light and happy dis-
position. He was self-sufficient, inclined to be despotic,
and it was not a difficult matter to corrupt him by a
luxurious life, of which in the days of the greatness and
wealth of the empire he was exceedingly fond. From
the earliest times he appears to have had a plurality of
gods, and he was both religious and superstitious ; he
had an exceedingly high moral ideal, and a most
sublime conception of the unity of the great God and
Creator of the world. In short, he possessed all the
virtues and lofty and great ideas which were attainable
by the people of such a civilized nation as his own : he
likewise practised all the vices which spring up under the
fostering influence of luxury and wealth. Though the
knowledge of the Almighty was brought face to face
with him, he refused to learn of Him, and accounted
Him as one of his own gods; therefore, like every
nation that has raised its hand to persecute God’s chosen
people, he has passed away, and his monuments alone
remain to tell us how great was the empire of the ‘ Sons
of the Sun ’ in the valley of the Nile.
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INDEX.
Abesha, arrival of, in Egypt 66.
Abraham, career of, 8o ; goes into
Egypt, 8l ; the Pharaoh who re-
ceived, 82.
Agriculture, Egyptian, 186.
Ahmes, defeats .Shepherd Kings, 68 ;
reign of, 68 ; a collar of gold given
to, 86.
Ahmes-Nefertari, wife of Amen-Ra,
reign ol, 69.
Ai, reign of, 73.
Akerblad, efforts of, to translate
demotic, 28.
Ainasis II., reign of, 98.
Amen, inscription of, at Ileni-llas-
san, 64.
Ainenhotep I., reign of, 69.
Ainenhotep II., reign of, 71.
Ainenhotep III., reign of, 71 ; kills
210 lions, 72 ; erects statues of
Meinnon, 72 ; piety of, 72.
Anubis, worship of, 139.
Ape-em-ankh, tomb of, 152.
Apepi II., reign of, 68.
Aperu, conquest of, by Thothmes
III. (supposed to be Jews), 71.
Apis, sacred to Ptah, 135.
Architecture, first period, 189 ; pyra-
mids, 190; statues of Chephren,
190; second period, 190 ; obelisks,
191 ; tombs, 191 ; in time of Shep-
herd Kings, 191 ; third period,
191 ; in time of Raineses II., 192 ;
fourth and fifth periods, 192 ;
character of, 193.
Army, Egyptian, 186.
Arts of Egyptians, 193.
Asenath, wife of Joseph, meaning
of name, 87.
Assurbanipal, conquests of, 97.
Ata, or Ouenephes, history of, 55.
Athothis, son of Menes, 55.
Autocraior, mislran.slat.oii of word,
17-
Avaris, battle at, 68,
Bakemcats, Egyptian, 83.
Baker, Pharaoh s, dream of, 83.
Bakhten, story of the Possessed
Princess of, 1 20.
Barbers, Egyptian, 84 ; poem 00,85.
Baskets, Egyptian, 83.
Bast, worship of, 144.
Beer, use of, 188.
Belzoni, obelisk found by, 32.
Birch, Dr., translation ol inscription
on Rosetta Stone by, 22 ; on
mistakes in translating demotic,
29 ; Mycerinus’ inscription trans-
lated by, 63 ; on Joseph's seven
cows, 83 ; on barbers, 85 ; re-
ference of, to brickinakers, 76 ;
on magical text, 1 14 ; on orders of
priests, 144.
Book of the Dead, uses of, 148 ;
description and age of, 167 ;
contents of, 168 ; illustrations
of, 168; explanations of, 172;
transformations of, 172 ; the
negative confession, 175 ; prayer
in, 177.
Bouriant, Urbain, translation of a
stele by, 22.
Brickmaking, Egyptian, 88,
Butler, Pharaoh’s, dream of, 83.
‘ Calf,’ the vessel called, 68.
Cainbyses the Persian conquers
Egypt, 98.
Canaanites, origin of, 52.
Cartonnages, description of, 161.
Xaf-Ra, or Chephren, reign of, 61 ;
pyramid of, 61 ; sphinx of, 61;
statues of, 190.
Cartouches, meaning of, 18.
N 2
198
INDEX.
Chain or collar of gold, gifts of,
Champollion, M., decipherment of
hieroglyphics by, 31.
Childhood of Egyptians, 179 ; edu-
cation of, 180.
Chnumis, worship of, 142.
xufu, or Cheops, reign of, 56, 58 ;
pyramid of, 56.
Cleopatra, hieroglyphic name of.
. 33-
Cleopatra’s Needle, made by Thoth-
mes III., 71 ; Rameses II. ’s in-
scription on, 79.
Coffins, description of, 162.
Colours used in writing, 41.
Cups, Egyptian, 83.
Cushites, legend of origin of, 53,
Demotic or enchorial inscription,
efforts to translate, 28.
Determinatives, use of, 44.
Diet of Egyotians, 1S7.
D’Orbiney Papyrus, the, date of,
82.
Dresses of women, 180; of men,
181.
Drunkenness known to Pigyptians,
187.
Eclipse during reign of Necherophes,
55-
Education of children, 180.
Egypt, geography of, 50 ; names of,
50 ; titles of kings of, 50 ; origin of
])eople of, 5 1 ; legendary origin of,
52 ; historyof, 53 ; dynasties of, 53,
et seq. ; civilization of, 80 ; liability
of, to famines, 81 ; conquered by
Cambyses, 98 ; literature of, 99 ;
religion of, 1 29.
Egyptians, origin of, 51 ; legend of,
concerning Idarmachis, 52 ; ap-
pearance of, 53 ; wars of, against
Ethiopian.s, 66 ; mode of dressing
the hair, 84 ; learning of, 93 ;
literature of, 99 ; poetry of, 100 ;
mode of writing history, 107 ;
hymns of, 112 ; magical texts of,
1 14; tales of, 115; religion of,
129 ; belief of, in immortality,
142 ; worship of, 143 ; priests.
144 ; tombs of, 147 ; burial of,
152; belief as to the soul after
death, 156 ; embalming, 157 t
dedication of intestines, 158 ;
cartonnages, 161 ; description of
coffins, 162 ; sarcophagus, 162;
uses of scarabsei, 163 ; uses of
ushabtiu, 164 ; beliefs of, 178 ;
childhood of, 179 ; dress of wo
men, 180 ; of men, 181 ; poly-
gamy of, 182; affection of, 182 ;
marriage of brother and si.ster
common, 182 ; position of the
king, 182 ; houses of, 184 ; occu-
pations of, 185 ; army of, 186 ;
laws of, 187 ; diet of, 187 ; use of
wine, 187 ; cultivation of vines,
187 ; drunkenness of, 187 ; use
of beer, 188 ; fond of hunting,
188 ; architecture of, 189 ; arts
of, 193 ; chararter of, 193.
Embalming, modes of, 157.
Enchorial and demotic inscrijitions,
efforts to tran.slate, 28.
Enna, the scribe of the D’Orbiney
Papyrus, 82.
Esarhaddon, conquests of, 96.
Ethiopians, wars of, against Pigyp-
tians, 66, 74.
Exodus, the, date of, 88 ; route of,
94.
Ezekiel, fulfilment of prophecies
of, 98.
Gizeh, pyramids at, 56.
God, hymn to, 130.
Gods, Egj'ptian, number of, 129;
triads of, 129; names of, 129;
Egyptian name for, 130; list of
male, 133 ; of female, 134 ; genii
of the dead, 135; the enemy of
Ra, 13s ; Ptah, 135 ; Osiris,
136; Anubis, Thoth, 140 ; Tmu,
Nephthys, Horns, Mut, Isis, 141 ;
Hathor, 141 ; .Sekhet, Bast, Chnu-
mis, Amen-Ra, 142; worship of,
143 ; offerings to, 143 ; place of
women in worship of, 145.
Greek inscription on Rosetta .Stone,
translation of, 22.
Guignts, Dr., on hieroglyphics, 18.
INDEX.
199
Hammer, M. von, mistakes of, 30.
Har-em-hebi, reign of, 73.
Harbor, or Herher, reign of, 95.
Harmachis, legend of, 52.
Harris Papyrus, list of offerings in,
144.
Hatasu, queen, reign of, 69 ;
obelisks of, 69.
Hathor, or Athor, worship of, 141.
Hawk, sacred to Ra, 136.
Heifer, sacrifice of, 143.
Hieratic writing, specimen of, 49.
I lieroglyphics, decipherment of, 15;
Kircher on, 17 ; Dr. Guignes on,
18; discovery of Zoega, 18;
meaning of cartouches, 18 ; dis-
covery of Boussard, 18 ; finding
of the Rosetta Stone, 18 ; inscrip-
tions of, 21 ; translations of Greek,
22 ; efforts to translate demotic
by Sacy and Akerblad, 28 ; mis-
takes in, 29 ; Chevalier Palin,
29 ; of von Hammer and Lenoir,
30 ; labours of Thomas Young,
30 ; of Champollion, 31 ; name of
Ptolemy, 32 ; of Cleopatra, 33 ;
objections to interpretation, 36 ;
letter of Dr. Lepsius, 36 ; theory
of Sir G. C. Lewis, 37 ; ideal
writing, 42 ; pictorial, 43 ; deter
minatives, 44 ; number of signs,
45 ; arrangement of, 45 ; orna-
mental use of, 46 ; specimen of,
46 ; specimens of hieratic and
demotic, 49.
Hor-em-heb, sarcophagus of, 162.
Horus, worship of, 141.
Houses, description of, 184.
Hunting, fondness for, 188.
Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, reigns
of, 67.
Hymns to Ra, 112 ; to God, 130.
Ideal writing, 42.
Ink, writing, 41.
Intestines, dedication of, 158.
Isis, wife of Osiris, 141.
Jacob, arrival of, in Egypt, picture
of supposed, 65.
Janelli, on ideographic theory, 36.
Jehoahaz made king, 97.
Jehoiakim made king, 97.
Jeremiah, fulfilment of prophecies
of, 98.
Jews, supposed arrival of, in Egypt,
65-
Jews in Egypt, labour of, 89.
Jezebel, painting of, 181.
Joseph sold into Egypt, 82 ; in
prison, 83 ; before Pharaoh, 84 ;
interpretations of, 85 ; exaltation
of, 86 ; meaning of Egyptian name
of, 86 ; wife of, 87 ; wonderful
policy of, 87 ; story of, confirms
accuracy of Bible, 87.
Josiah, death of, 97.
Ka, belief in, 157.
Kadesh on the Orontes, battle at,
between Khita and Rameses 1 1.,
77-
Kem, native name of Egypt, 50.
Khilibu or Khiribu, king of, rescue
of, 77.
Khita nation, origin of, 53.
Khita, or Hittites, wars of, against
Rameses IL, 74; poem about,
too.
Khnum-hetep, tomb of, description,
65-
Kings, position of, 182 ; names of,
182 ; dignity of, 183 ; death of,
183.
Kircher on hieroglyphics, 17.
Klaproth, objection of, to Champol-
lion, 36.
Kochome, pyramids at, built by Ata,
55-
Kohl, uses of, 180.
Kush, appearance of inhabitants of,
52- ,
Labyrinth, description of, 67.
Laws, Egyptian, 187.
Learning, poem in praise of, 123.
Lenoir, mistake of, 30.
Lepsius, Dr., letter of, to Rosellini,
36.
Letronne, supposition of, 32.
Lewis, Sir G. C., theory of, as to
Egyptian language, 37.
Libyans, legend of origin of, 53 ;
] terrified by an eclipse, 55.
200
INDEX.
Linen, fine, dress of priests, 85.
Literature, Egyptian, description of,
99 ; poem of Pentaur, 100; hymns
to the Nile, no; to Ra, 112;
magical text, 114; Tale of the
Two Brothers, 115; the Pos-
sessed Princess of Bakhten, 120;
the praise of learning, 123 ; the
Song of the Harper, 124.
Lushington, Professor, translation
of Pentaur’s poem, 100.
Magical text translated by Dr.
Birch, 1 14.
Mariette on tombs, 150.
Mastaba, or tomb, description of,
150.
IMat'in, battle of, with Amenemha,
64.
Megiddo, battle at, 97.
Memphis, founded by Mena, 54.
Mena, or Menes, date of reign of,
54 ; history of, 54.
Meydoum, pyramid of, supposed
sepulchre of Senefru, 55.
Memnon, statues of, 72.
Memnonium, the, built by Seti I.,
73-
Menkau-Ra, or Mycerinus, reign of,
62 ; attempt to destroy pyramid
of, 62 ; mummy, sarcophagus, and
coffin of, 62.
Menouthes, chief of the, rebellion
of, 96.
Mer-en-Ptah, or Meneptah, the
probable Pharaoh of the Exodus,
79, 94-
Mestem, an eye-paint, 66.
Mirrors, i8i.
Misr, Arabic name of Egypt, 50.
Misraim, Hebrew name of Egypt,
SO.
Mnevis, bulls sacred to Ra, 136.
Moeris, lake, description of, 67 ;
uses of, 81.
Moses in the ark, 93 ; learning of,
93-
Mummies, description of, 157 ;
animal, 164.
Musur, Assyrian name of Egypt, 50 .
Mut, worship of, 141.
Nebuchadnezzar IL, conqueror of
. Egypt, 97.
Necherophes, or Nefer-ka-Seker,
eclipse during reign of, 55.
Ne;:^t-Ames, stele, translation of,
153-
Nephthys, worship of, 141,
Nile, the, poems to, 110; inunda-
tions of, 186.
Nimrod, prince of Hermopolis, re-
bellion of, 96.
Noph, ruler of, 96.
Obelisks of Thothmes I. at Thebes,
69 ; of Hatasu, 69 ; of Seti L, 73.
Ointment, offering of, 143.
Onions, a favourite offering, 143.
Osiris, story of, 136.
Palettes, scribes’, 41.
Palin, Chevalier, mistakes of, 29.
Papyrus used for writing, 38.
Pentaur, poem of, copies of, 74
Professor Lushington’s translation
of, too.
Pharaoh of the Exodus, the probable.
79-
Pharaoh, the supposed, who received
Abraham, 82.
Pharaoh’s daughter saves Moses,
9.T
Pharaoh’s dream, 83 ; interpretation
of, 85.
Pharaoh Hophra, reign of, 97.
Pharaoh Necho, reign of, 97.
Phonetic writing, 43.
Phut, or Punt, situation of, 52.
Pi-ankhi, reign of, 96.
Pictorial writing, 43.
Pithom, supposed site of, 78, 96.
Plutarch on sacrifices, 143.
Polygamy, allowance of, 182.
Potiphar and Joseph, 82, 83 ; mean-
ing of name, 86.
Priests, orders of, 144; description
of, 145.
Ptah, temple of, built by Mena, 54 ;
temple of, at Memphis, repair of,
69 ; worship of, 1 3 5.
Ptolemy, hieroglyphic name of, 32.
Punt, expedition to land of, or
Phut, 69.
INDEX.
201
Pyramids of Kochome, 55 ! Mey-
doum, 55 ; of Cheops, 56 ; of
Chephren, 56, 6l ; of Mycerinus,
56, 62 ; plan of construction of,
56 ; Egyptian name for, 57 ;
materials of, 57 ; amount of
labour required in building, 58 ;
number of chambers in, 58 ; re-
mains of, 58 ; of Amenemha, 67.
Ra, hymn to, 112; seventy-two
names for, 129 ; called Harmachis
and Turn or Tmu, 130; worship
of, 135-
Rab-shakeh, taunt of, 96.
Raamses, supposed site of, 78 ;
poem on happy town of, 96.
Rameses I., reign of, 73.
Rameses II., reign of, 74; wars of,
against Ethiopians, 74 ; against
the Khita, 74 ; poem about, too ;
marriage of, 78 ; buildings of, 78 ;
children of, 79 ; persecution of
the Jews, 88 ; a great brickmaker,
^9-
Rameses III., list of offerings of,
143-
Rameses VII., slovenliness of, 84.
Razors, Egyptian, 84.
Reeds, used in writing, 41.
Religion, Egyptian, number of gods,
129; triads, 129; names of gods,
129 ; name for god, 130 ; hymn
to God, 130 ; list of male gods,
133; of female gods, 134; the
genii of the dead, 135 ; the enemy
of Ra, 135 ; Ptah, 135 ; Osiris,
136; Anubis, 139; Thoth, 140;
Tmu, Nephthys, Horns, Mut,
Isis, Hathor, 141 ; Sekhet, Bast,
Chnumis, Amen-Ra, 142.
Ring an emblem of authority, 85.
Rosetta Stone, the, discovery of, 18 ;
description of, 21 ; inscriptions
on, 21 ; translation of Greek, 22 ;
a decree, 23 ; to Good Fortune, 26 ;
attempts to translate the enchorial
or demotic writing by Sacy and
Akerblad, 28 ; mistakes of Palin,
von Hammer, and Lenoir, 29, 30 ;
labours of Thomas Young, 30; of
Champollion, 31 ; hieroglyphic
name of Ptolemy, 32 ; objections
to interpretation, 36 ; letter of
Dr. Lepsius, 36 ; theory of Sir
G. C. Lewis, 37.
Rouge, de, on papyrus relating to
the Shepherd Kings, 68.
Sacrifices, Egyptian, 143.
Sacy, .Silvestre de, efforts of, to
translate demotic, 28.
Samneh, fortress of, built by Usert-
sen HI., 66 ; tablet at, 66.
Sarcophagus, description of, 162.
Scarabsei, uses of, in embalming,
163.
Scribes, importance of, 42, 85.
Sculpture writing, 38.
Sekenen Ra, rebellion of, 68.
Sekhet, worship of, 142.
Senefru, reign of, 55.
.Seti I., reign of, 73 ; builds the
Memnonium, a temple to Sekhet,
a well, and an obelisk, 73 > S'l'""
cophagus of, at Soane’s Museum,
73-
Seti IL, the D’Orbiny Papyrus
belonged to, 82.
Severus, Emperor, repairs statue of
Memnon, 72.
Sharuhen, fortress of, battle at, 68.
Shasu, legend of origin of, 53.
Shepherd Kings, reigns of, 67.
Sheps-es-kaf, reign of, 63.
Sheshank, or Shishak, conquests of,
95-
Solomon’s affinity with Pharaoh, 95.
Song of the Harper, 124.
Sphinx, the, description of, 61.
Statues of Chephren, 190.
Stele, discovery of, at En-Nobeireh,
22 ; of Next-Ames, translation
of, 153-
Succoth, identification of, 78.
.Sun’s disk worshipped by Amen-
hotep IV., 72.
Tel-el-Amarua, temple of the sun at,
72.
Thoth, worship of, 140.
Thothmes L, reign of, 69 ; obelisks
of, 69.
202
INDEX.
Thothmes II., reign of, 69.
Thothmes III., reign of, 70; con-
quests of, 71 ; maker of Cleo-
patra’s Needle, 71.
Thothmes IV., reign of, 71.
Thuku, supposed to be identical
with Succoth, 78, 96.
Tirhakah, reign of, 96.
Tmu, worship of, 141.
Tombs, Egyptian, description of
Khnum-hetep’.=, 65 ; making of,
147 ; description of, 150 ; pictures
in, 152 ; at Beni-Hassan, 171.
Toys, Egyptian, 179.
Translation and transliteration,
specimen of, 46.
Turquoise mining at Wady Mag-
harah, 55
Two Brothers, Tale of the, reference
to, 81 ; papyrus containing, 82;
paraphrase of, 115.
Tyre, King of, conquest of, 96.
Uaua of Nubia, defeat of, by Amen-
emha, 64.
I Ur-ma-neferu-Ra, wife of Rameses
I ■ II., 78.
Usertsen I., reign of, 64.
Usertsen II., reign of, 65.
Usertsen III., reign of, 66 ; deifica-
tion of, 66.
Ushabtiu, uses of, 164.
Vines, cultivation of, 187.
Vyse, Colonel, on pyramid of
Mycerinus, 62.
Wall from Heliopolis to Pelusium,
built by Rameses II., 78.
Wine, used by, 187.
Writing, Egyptian, materials used
in, 38; colours used in, 38, 41 ;
sculpture, 38 ; papyrus, 38 ; reeds,
41 ; ink, 41 ; palettes, 41 ; ideal,
42 ; pictorial, 43 ; determinatives,
44 ; specimen of, 46 ; specimens
of hieratic and demotic, 49.
Young, Thomas, labours of, in de-
ciphering hieroglyphics, 30.
Zedekiah, rebellion of, 97.
Zoega, discovery of, 18.
LIST OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.
Genesis.
rage
i. I
130
>>• 7
131
X. 6
51
xii. 7. 9
80
,, 10, 12
81
XV. 13
88
xxxvii. 28
82
xli. 14
84
xliii. II ...
67
xlvii. 25...
87
Exodus.
i. 8
88
i. II
78
V. 13
89
xii. 40 ...
88
xxxiii. 20
131
xxxiv. 6 ..
132
xxxviii. 8
9
Numbers.
xiv. 18 ...
132
xix. 2
143
XX. 16 ...
132
Deuteronomy,
vi. 4 ... ... 130
X. 17 132
xxii. 8 ... ... 185
xxxii. 6 ... ... 131
xxxiii. 27 ... 131
1 Samuel.
XV. 22, 23 ... 132
2 Samuel.
vii. 22 ...
Page
•30
I Kings.
iii. I
95
2 Kings.
ix. 30
181
xviii. 21...
97
xix. 9
96
xxii. I ...
74
xxiv. 7 ...
97
2 Chronicles.
xii. 2-4 ...
95
xiii. 9
132
Job.
iii. 14 19
126
M 17
124
xii. 10 ...
131
xxxiii. 4. . .
131
xxxvii. 23
131
Psalms.
i. 6
132
ii. 7
131
X. 16
• 131
XXV. 10 .. .
• 131
xxvii. 10
• 131
xxxiii. 6...
• 131
xxxiv. 17
Page
132
XXXV. 5 ...
131
,, 10
132
xxxvii. 37
126
Ivii. 3
131
Iviii. 10 ...
133
„ I I ...
Ixviii. 5 . . .
132
•31
Ixxviii 51
51
Ixxxvi. 8
*32
Ixxxix. 14
131
xc. 2
131
xci. 4
131
c. 5
131
cii. 25-27
131
civ. 5
132
cvi. 22 ...
5'
cxxi. 4 ...
113
cxxix. 4...
133
cxxxv. 5. ..
132
cxlvi. 6 ...
131
cxlviii. 5, 6
132
Proverbs.
iii- 33
133
viii. 28 ...
132
xiv. II ...
133
xvi. 4 ...
131
xxii. 22, 23
132
Ecclesiastes.
i- 4
124
iii- 13
125
V. I, 2, 6
133
„ 18
125
viii. 15 ...
125
204
LIST OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.
Isaiah.
Page
Nahum.
Page
Romans.
Page
ix. 6
131
xix. 13
96
xxii. 13 , . .
125
xxxvii. 9.,.
96
xl. 10, 12
132
xlii.5 ...
132
xlv. 5, 21
130
xlv. 12
131
Jeremiah.
ii. 16
96
iv. 30
181
X. 10
131
xxvii. 5 ...
131
xvli. 14, 19
96
Lamentations.
iii. 22 ...
132
Ezekiel.
xxiii. 40...
181
XXX. 13-16
96 1
Daniel.
V. 23
131
Amos.
iv. 13
132
V. 15
126
'•7 132
Malachi.
ii, 10 ... 130, 131
“>• 5 132
Matthew.
6, 7 133
Mark.
ix. 44 126
Luke.
xii. 18-21 ... 126
xix. 12-27 ... 132
John.
>• 13
• 130
i. 14, 18
■ 131
iii, 16, 18
■ 131
iv. 24
. 130
xiv. 6
■ 131
Acts.
xvii. 25, 28
131
ix. IS
I Corinthians,
viii. 6 ...
Ephesians.
iv. 6
Colossians.
i, 16, 17
I Timothy.
i. 17
vi. 16
2 Timothy.
iv. I
Hebrews.
xii. 9
Revelation.
1, 8
iv. 1 1
132
130
130
130
131
131
124
130
131
131
Harrison & Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St. Martin's Lane.
THE MUMMY.
l6l
When the friends of a poor person wished his intestines
to be under the protection of these genii, and could not
afford to go to the expense of alabaster or wooden jars,
they caused four waxen figures of these gods to be made,
and placed inside the body with the intestines.
When the body had been mummified, and wrapped
up in linen bandages, it was a common thing, if the
deceased was a person of rank or a priest, to enclose it
in what is called a cartonnage. The cartonnage was a
thin casing made of plaster and linen, and it covered
the whole body, fitting closely. In the earlier days the
face was painted only, but in the time of the Ptolemies
the face and ears were often gilded, and the eyes, eye-
brows and lids made of glass or porcelain. On the top
of the head a scarabaeus or beetle was painted holding
the sun between its antenna;, while at the foot was painted
a figure of Nut or heaven, overshadowing the mummy,
and Isis and Nephthys, the wife and sister of the Osiris
or mummy, stand one on each side of it, with wings
stretched out to protect the deceased. At one time the
mummy of the deceased is represented as being visited
by his soul, or with the sun shining upon him, and at
another the judgment scene from the one hundred and
twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of the Dead is shown,
with the soul of the deceased being weighed in the
balance before Osiris, the great god of the dead, while
the four genii of the dead look on. The scenes depicted
on the cartonnages vary, very few being exactly alike.
On some mummies scarab^ei, necklaces, rows of beads,
L
1 62 THE DWELI.ERS ON THE NILE.
breastplates, and figures are found ; and at times objects
which were used by the deceased in life have been buried
with him, as in the case of the sacred bard An;^;-hapi,
whose cymbals were found with his mummy, and may
be seen in the British Museum. In the last days of the
Egyptian empire a portrait of the deceased was painted
and laid upon the face of the mummy ; and over the
mummy of a child in the British Museum there is a
covering on which is painted the face and figure of the
little Greek. The hair was mummified, and wrapped in
bandages and laid at the foot of the mummy.
The mumm}^ being arranged in its gaudily painted
cartonnage, was then placed in a coffin or ca.se of
sycamore wood, which was usually made to represent
the form of a man. As the mummy, so the coffin was
made according to the amount of money the friends of
the deceased could afford to pay. The rich indulged
in most beautiful coffins, covered inside and out with
scenes and chapters from the Book of the .Dead,
allegorical representations, etc., while in the later days
under the Ptolemies, zodiacs are often found. The
outer case of all was made of stone, and was sometimes
covered entirely with hieroglyphs, and at other times
various scenes were introduced to illustrate the text.
The magnificent stone sarcophagus of Hor-em-heb in
the British Museum is inscribed with a series of pictures
representing the passage of the sun through the hours
of the day, and above each scene are lines of hieroglyphs
saying what gods are portrayed, and what is meant by
THE MUMMY.
163
the pictures. The scarabaei which were deposited with
the mummy were made of various substances, and were
usually inscribed with the thirtieth chapter of the Book
of the Dead, which has for its vignette the deceased
.Scarabseus inscribed with a part of the Thirtieth Chapter of the Ritual ot
the Dead.
adoring a scarabseus, and whose rubric directs that this
chapter should be ‘ said over a scarabseus of hard stone.
Cause it to be washed with gold, and placed within the
heart of a person. Make a phylactery anointed with oil,
L 2
164
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
say over it with magic : My heart is my mother, my
heart is my transformations.’^
The figures placed with the dead were called tisJiabtm,
and were inscribed with the name of the deceased and
the sixth chapter of the Book of the Dead. They were
supposed to do for the deceased in Hades all the work
that would otherwise fall to his lot, such as the ploughing
of fields and drawing water.
Besides men and women, the Egyptians also
mummified cats, crocodiles, snakes, birds such as the
ibis and hawk, and many other creatures.
‘ Dr. BTch, in Bunsen’s ‘ Egypt,’ v. 139.
Ushabti Figures containing the Sixth Chapter of the Ritual of the Dead.
i6/
CHAPTER IX,
The Book of the Dead,
This is the name usually given by Egyptologists to a
book or collection of chapters which the Egyptians
called ‘ coming forth by day.’ There are a very large
number of copies of this book in the various museums
of luirope, and parts of it are inscribed upon papyrus,
tombs, coffins, mummies, iishahtiu figures, scarabaei, and
other objects. In many copies the chapters are accom-
panied by vignettes, but the arrangement of the chapters
is never the same in any two manuscripts, and many of
the hieroglyphic copies upon papyrus show that they
have been copied from the hieratic character, for the
scribe has confused signs which are alike in that style
of writing. The work in some form is exceedingly old,
for there are evidences as far back as the eleventh
dynasty that the knowledge of the meaning of certain
parts of it had been already lost. As it is now, it is by
no means easy to understand, on account of the allusions
to legends in it, and its writer or writers imagining that
the reader understands the whole system of religion and
mythology. The first complete copy of the text was
published by Lepsius in 1842 ; and in 1867 Dr. Birch
i68
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
published a literal translation of it in Bunsen’s ‘ Egypt’s
Place in Universal History,’ Vol. V.
From the Book of the Dead we gather that the religious
man gained everlasting life ; first living in Hades as
he lived upon earth, then passing through whatever
transformations he wished, and finally being identified
with Osiris, the god of the dead. The rubric of the first
chapter says ; ‘ Let this book be known on earth. It is
made in writing on the coffin. It is the chapter by
which he comes out every day as he wishes, and he goes
to his house. He is not turned back. There are given
to him food and drink, slices of flesh off the altar of the
Sun. When he passes from the fields of the Elysium,
corn and barley are given to him out of them. For he is
supplied as he was on earth.
In the accompanying illustration the future state of
the blessed dead is depicted. The outer border is the
waters of the Nile. In the top left-hand corner of the
scene are three lakes, underneath which is the inscription ;
‘ Being in peace in the fields of the Se;;^et-Aaru.’ Before
the ‘gods of the horizon ’ is a table laden with offerings,
and a hawk called ‘Peace, the Great Lord of Heaven.’
The deceased is seen offering to the soul, and he paddles
along in a boat containing tables of offerings. Behind
the boat is the ‘ cycle of the great gods,’ to whom the
deceased offers : and last of all comes Thoth, writing on
a palette. In the second division, the deceased is offering
to Hapi or the Nile, and is represented performing all
* Bunsen, ‘ Egypt,’ v. p. 163.
The Elysian Fields. Fron Lepsius' ‘ Todtenhuch.''
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD,
I/I
the various labours of the field, ploughing, sowing, and
reaping. In the third division are four pools, and the
Part of the Seventeenth Chapter of the Ritual of the Dead. The Deceased
in a Hall ; the Boat of the Ram rowed by the Kings.
boat of Ra Harmachis, ‘when he travels to the fields of
the Se;;^et-Aaru.’ Next comes the boat of Un-nefer or
Osiris, with paddles and a throne. This division i.s
1/2
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
intersected by smaller streams of water : in the upper
part, or ‘abode of the beatified dead,’ dwells the Sun-
god, and there the corn grows to the height of seven
cubits ; the lower part is the dwelling-place of the gods,
and the gods represented are Shu, Tefnut, and Seb.
The seventeenth chapter of the Book of the Dead is
very important, as it contains explanations of what is
laid down therein in a series of questions and answers ;
for example : —
I am that splendid Bird Bennu, which is in Heliopolis.
AVhat does this mean ?
T'he Bennu bird is Osiris who is in Heliopolis.
I have set two feathers upon my head.
AVTat do these two feathers signify ?
The two feathers are the two uraei crowns upon the head of
my father Turn.
The transformations of the blessed dead could be as
numerous as they pleased, and a number of chapters
in the Book of the Dead are taken up in discussing them.
The progress of the soul in the netherworld was barred by
countless demons, who waited to seize and destroy it ; but
their power was utterly shattered if the deceased knew
certain words which were to be uttered. Attacks were
made upon all parts of the body, especially the heart ;
hence we find that several chapters are devoted to the
purpose of teaching how these may be warded off or
rendered powerless. Even after all danger from the
attack of devils was over for the deceased, there still
The Judgment Hall of Osiris.
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. 1 75
remained the great and final judgment, which took place
before Osiris and the forty-two judges of the dead
in the Hall of the Two Truths. In the accompanying
illustration Osiris is sitting on a throne, and holding the
whip and sceptre indicative of royalty and dominion.
In front of him is an inscription which reads: ‘ Osiris,
the Good Being, the lord of life, the great god and ruler
within Rustat and Akart, Khent Amenti, the great god,
lord of Abydos, the king everlasting.’ The forty-two
figures are the judges of the dead, each of whom bore a
name descriptive of his part. Before the hall of Osiris
is a table laden with offerings, and above it are the
four genii of the dead, Amset, Hapi, Tuaumutef, and
Kebhsenuf Near the table is the destroyer of enemies,
a composite monster, and behind him stands Thoth,
writing the decision on a palette ; while his cynoce-
phalus companion is seated on the middle of the
balance. The heart of the deceased is being weighed
in the right-hand pan of the scale against righteousness
in the other. Horus has his arm stretched out to the
indicator of the balance, and Anubis is watching the
pan of the scale in which the figure of Mat, righteous-
ness, is seated. On the other side of the heart stand
two figures of the goddess of right or law, holding a
sceptre, and between them is the deceased. The deceased
then makes what is called the ‘ negative confession,’ that
is a confession in which he declares to each god that he
has not committed a particular sin or crime, thus : —
76
THE DWELLERS ON THE NILE.
Oh Strider, coming out of Heliopolis ! I have not been idle.
Oh Gaper, coming out of Kar ! I have not waylaid.
Oh Nostril, coming out of Hermopolis ! I have not boasted.
Oh Devourer of Shades, coming out of the orbits ! I have
not stolen.
Oh Foul one, coming out of Rusta ! I have not smitten men
privily.
Oh Smoking Face, coming out after entering Heliopolis !
I have not stolen the things of the Gods.
Oh Cracker of Bones, coming out of Bubastis ! I have not
told falsehoods.
Oh Glowing Feet, coming out of the Darkness ! I have not
eaten the heart.
Oh Eater of Blood, coming from the Block ! I have not
killed sacred beasts.
Oh Ruler of the Dead, coming out of the cave ! I have not
corrupted women or men.
Oh Swallower, coming out of Khenem ! I have not
blasphemed.
Oh Lord of Purity, coming out of Sais ! I have not multiplied
words in speaking.
Oh Nefer Tmu, coming out of Ptah-ka ! I have not lied or
done any wicked sin.
Oh Eye in his Heart, coming out of Sahu ! I have not defiled
the river.
Oh Yoker of Good, coming out of Heliopolis ! I have not
injured the Gods, or calumniated the slave to his
master.'
' Bunsen’s ‘ Egypt,’ v. p. 254.